Time Constraints
by JakillNearBeg
Summary: Shortly before leaving DA Jesse's cards are stolen, but what could anybody want with the Crystal Beasts, and who are the people that want to get them back? Jesse and Jaden end up learning more about themselves and each other than they could possibly want.
1. Motion

Hey guys! Before we start, I want to take the time to thank you for spending precious minutes reading my work. It really means a lot to me. This is my first fanfic, so I hope you enjoy it, and forgive me if I'm not familiar with a lot of the conventions of the Fanfiction Community. All mistakes (and I mean it - _all mistakes_) and mine, so feel free to throw rotten tomatoes at me. Or, actually, don't do that, because that's totally rude.

This story takes place between Season 3 and Season 4 of Yugioh GX!, so after Jaden's return to Duel Academy but before Jesse Anderson returns to North Academy (which technically takes place at the start of Season 4). Beyond that, I have no other frame of reference. Jaden and Jesse are now in a relationship, and if you wish to dispute this, fine, don't read it. But seriously - who would _attempt_ to go through God-knows-how-many dimensions (yes, _dimensions_) to save somebody who helped get you out of the _first alternate dimension_ by _sacrificing himself_, and told you to keep safe, _especially _when you've only known the guy for, what, two weeks, maybe three? just to, once again, save him? If that doesn't say _I love you_, then I don't know what does, because that is some pretty fine _dedication, _folks.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to point out that I do not own Yugioh GX or anything associated with it. I _do_ own, however, Blake, Alec, Geri, and Sari and the concept associated with them, which we'll get to further down into the page.

**Story Summary:** Shortly before his scheduled departure from Duel Academy, Jesse's Crystal Beast cards are stolen, and he and Jaden find themselves being kidnapped. The question is, who would want to steal them in the first place, especially considering Jaden's cards were in the same room and not stolen? Then the boys find themselves rescued, and Jesse is told that he'll need to go after his cards. One problem: he no longer has a deck.

Against Yubel's judgment, and with the aid of the mysterious Oracles, Alec, Blake, Geri and Sari, Jesse acquires new cards and tests his deck. When he and Jaden receive instructions from the Oracle of the Future, they know that their task has just begun, and the two venture back to the modern center of activity, Domino City, for what might just be their most daunting task yet. Love, friendship, and loyalty are the stakes in this dangerous game, and every new clue unearthed sends them stumbling further into the dark as the boys fight the toughest race of mankind: against time.

**Rating:** Rated T for sexual innuendo, dark themes, and language.

**Genre:** Expect a mix of action, romance, adventure, drama, mystery, friendship, and much more. Should appeal to readers of many tastes. Beware long chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Constraints<br>**A Spiritshipping Fanfic  
>Chapter 1<br>Motion

The field exploded as smoke engulfed the arena.

Jesse dug his feet into the ground, trying to retain his balance. It's amazing how life-like these effects were, he mused. They were holograms, but there was nothing fake about this kind of wind and heat - the warm air rushed by so quickly it could have burned off his skin, or his clothes, or his hair, or his cards, or...

He heard a familiar sound, something one normally would expect to hear after an explosion. It was a call fraught with concern. He knew that voice.

After a few seconds, the smoke cleared away to show a blank field, save for Jesse's had a facedown and a monster. His opponent had two facedowns.

The smoke cleared away completely so that Jesse could see his opponent. He looked confused. "What happened?" he asked.

Jesse smiled - getting the best of Jaden in a duel was never terribly difficult. Unfortunately, getting the best of him and maintaining that lead was the hard part, because he always managed to spring back from the jaws of defeat.

"You attacked Ruby with your Elemental Hero Sparkman!" Jesse announced. "I had to save my little friend, so I sprung a trap. G Force!" Jaden's face deflated as the crushing sense of horrible realization settled in. He'd seen this card enough times to remember what it did.

Jesse continued. "So I played Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger to intercept your attack!" He triumphantly pointed towards my left, where a yellowish stone had just formed as a result of the monster's destruction.

Jaden smirked. "Nice one," he said, "but you didn't think I was prepared for that?"

The blue-haired boy dropped his face. "Uh, Jaden, this is you we're talking about. You wouldn't know prepared if it hit you in the face!"

"I'm going to nicely pretend you never said that. Instead, I'll let my Trap Card do the talking!"

"Trap Card?"

He smirked again. "Yeah, and it's a nice one too! Call of the Haunted!"

Jesse bit his lip, but refrained from saying anything.

"Elemental Hero Bladedge!" Jaden called out.

The other boy grimaced.

"Attack Ruby Carbuncle and finish this!" Jaden called out.

Now it was Jesse's turn to smile. "Oh no you don't! Watch this!" he said, pressing the button on his duel disk to reveal his facedown Trap Card - Crystal Pair. "Now by taking one Crystal Beast monster from my deck and placing it face up in my Spell and Trap Card Zone," Jesse said, choosing Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and placing it in the second slot, "I take no battle damage!"

A blue stone appeared in the backrow as Bladedge leapt forward like a man possessed and was upon Ruby in seconds. The poor catlike creature never stood a chance as Bladedge destroyed it with one fell swoop of its arm. Ruby's image digitized and a red ruby stone formed in his Spell and Trap Card Zone. Three down, one to go, he thought.

"Well Jesse," Jaden said, "You got me this turn, but next turn, you're done!"

_"He's right,"_ Jesse thought, _"Unless I drew the right card. which means he won't get a next turn."_

Jesse was down to 1200 Life Points with only a Crystal Blessing card in his hand. Jaden had three cards on the field - Bladedge, Call of the Haunted, and a facedown. He had 900 Life Points and two cards in his hand.

Fingers crossed, Jesse placed his hand on the top card of his deck and drew.

Graceful Charity. He let out a sigh of utter relief and activated it.

Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth, Monster Reborn, and Rare Value. He smiled as he placed Monster Reborn and Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth in the graveyard.

"I play Rare Value!" he called, placing the card in the first slot of his spell and trap card zone. Jesse sent Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle to the grave, and then picked up two more cards.

Last Resort. Crystal Abundance.

He had two Crystal Beasts in his graveyard and two on his field. He was set to win.

Jesse laughed as he sensed Jaden tense up. "Hey bro," Jaden said, "Mind telling me what's up?"

"Don't mind if I do!" he laughed. "Go Crystal Blessing!" he said. The image appeared and Jaden's face twisted in confusion. "This means I can take two Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard and place them in my Spell and Trap Card Zone, so I choose Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle and Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!" Immediately the red and tawny-yellow stones appeared. Jesse now had four cards occupying his Spell and Trap Card Zone - Ruby, Amber, Sapphire and Topaz.

"Let's go, Crystal Abundance!" he said. "Lemme explain how this works for ya, Jaden. First, I have to send all four of my crystals to the graveyard."

"Wait, why would you do that?" Jaden yelled at me.

Jesse played the knowing smirk. "Because now, every card on your side of the field is destroyed."

"Oh."

Another explosion formed on Jaden's side of the field. and Jesse watched in pure awe as Jaden's Life Point count rose from 900 to 1900.

"I played a Trap Card!" he said. "It's called Elemental Recharge! Once activated, I gain 1000 Life Points for every Elemental Hero Monster on my side of the field! And as it so happens, I had one before your card destroyed it!"

But as far as Jesse was concerned, this wasn't even something at which to bat an eyelash. "And now time for the last effect of my card!" he called, ignoring his small victory. "Since I destroyed two cards on your side of the field, I can bring two Crystal Beast Monsters back from the grave!"

"That's why you sent them there!" he shouted.

"Very perceptive. So come on out, Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger!"

Just as quickly as the two had left the field, they were back on, this time in monster form. "Sick 'em, boys!"

Topaz Tiger went first, pawing Jaden across the face. His Life Points dropped to 300.

Sapphire Pegasus went second, knocking him backwards with his horn. Jaden's Life Points dropped to 0.

And that was game.

The images faded, and Jaden sat up. He smiled. "That was good! I liked that card!"

Jesse sat down next to him. "Thanks partner!" he said. "You weren't too bad yourself. That Call of the Haunted almost had me worried." Jesse said this playfully, as if trying to say that he was never worried at all.

Jaden got the hint. "Well, I was feeling pretty confident when I destroyed your Ruby. I mean, I was poised to win this one! The only monster in your deck that's strong enough to defeat Bladedge is Rainbow Dragon itself! And I," he added slyly, elbowing Jesse in the ribs, "knew that dragon wasn't going to come out anytime soon!"

The other boy couldn't tell if Jaden was making a joke or not. "Well," he said, feigning insecurity, "the next time you have me cornered, I might just have to whip it out."

Jaden blinked.

Jesse smiled at his confused reaction. _"This is one of the reasons I loved Jaden. He's so authentic. He really, confidently believes everything that he says is true. There are no walls. No hints. It's all laid on the table. Of course,"_ he mused, _"it also means he doesn't take hints very well."_

Jesse put his arm around Jaden and they fell backwards, faces towards the sky. "You know," he said, "I'm glad I have a friend like you, Jaden. You always find some way to put the energy back in me." As he spoke, he rolled over on his side to face Jaden, who did the same.

"Thanks, Jesse."

Jesse responded by briefly kissing him. They were in an open area, and anybody from a quarter mile distance could have seen them. It was better to wait for these kinds of things. Jesse fought back a chuckle as he imagined Crowler - "Students kissing is in direct violation of school policy!" And then he'd been all too quick to point out that I was a visiting student, so the worst he could do was send me back, but Jaden could face expulsion. No, it was definitely better not to be seen.

Jesse knew that Crowler was just being himself, and he pushed those thoughts away. Being with Jaden always felt right.

* * *

><p>The scene was dark - it was night, clearly, for the moon shone overhead, and the stars winked in the night sky at any who decided to greet their gaze. The stars were always watching, thought the black-haired girl. She was sitting at a deck in a room with a glass ceiling, writing something. The stars knew everything, and they watched her write, their bright, flaming presence providing all the light she needed. The stars are a product of darkness, for without the darkness, there is nothing for the light to burn away. Could it be possible, the girl thought amongst her scribblings, that the darkness can be as good as the light? Perhaps the philosophy of the world was wrong when it only gave importance to the light. Sometimes she felt she could see more clearly in the dark.<p>

The girl finished writing and put the utensil down on the table. She heaved a sigh, her troubles heavily oppressing her like a weight her shoulders could not sustain. She felt herself faltering in the darkness, stumbling down a path which she could not make out. But did that matter, she asked, when she already knew her destination? The girl was not surprised, for after watching her friends go before her, it was clear that she would be the last one. She was the most insignificant, yet the most potent in times like this. But no amount of knowledge of the inevitable could prevent it from occurring, and by that she was utterly useless. The last she could do would be to write and pray that her message would reach its intended recipients before time ran out. She looked over at the hourglass on his desk. Any ordinary person would say it was broken, for the sand didn't run when turned over, but instead stayed in the top basin, mocking the very person who was foolish enough to attempt to force it to fill a task so trivial as to tell the humdrum time of worldly concerns. The girl sighed as she saw the contents of the bottom were almost full. She felt enveloped by the anxiety, wishing the time would simply come. For she knew, she hadn't much longer. Days, minutes, weeks, maybe even months and years - none of it felt long enough with the task she had been given. The girl sealed her message, closed her eyes, and relaxed in her chair, as if wishing that her languid disposition would make it that much easier for her to succumb.

Please, she thought, be ready for this. Then she chided herself - what use was it, trying to tell someone to expect the unexpected? She had done her best to say as much as she could, although even now, in this weakened state, the restraints placed upon her which mocked her her entire life still held right, and refused to budge, no matter how much she pulled and pleaded. The most she could do would be to ask for an apology. She knew that her words would reach their target, but she could not tell how useful they would be, for that was beyond her last reserves of power.

* * *

><p>It felt right, but he wasn't sure what was right anymore. Was Jaden right? Was he right? No, Jesse Anderson was having doubts.<p>

Everything felt off.

Everything had felt off since the Crystal Beast Cards had been stolen.

Jesse remembered that terrible moment. Every detail, every agonizing minutia was branded into his memory. It was an event that he couldn't help but remember, because everything reminded him of the beasts, and every time he thought about the beasts, he thought about this moment. Maybe the more times he relived it, the less torturous it would become. Yes, he thought, go through it so many times to dilute the pain. You'll never get used to the idea, but you can't let it hold you back.

He and Jaden had been sleeping in his room, having just finished the night's usual activities. It was raining, and there was thunder. The clouds blocked the moonlight. It was the bad kind of storm that even the ducks took cover from, for no creature, however agreeable the water may be, was game to leave shelter in this kind of weather. It was a torrential downpour. The heavens were crying with anger.

They each left their cards on the night tables on the respective sides of their beds. It was for practical reasons – they had tried to leave everything in one place, but that cost them precious seconds. In the case of an emergency, their duel disks were there too. They would still need to change into their regular outfits, thus the reason for separating their cards. It wasn't always like that, no, of course not. The older, singular location was symbolic. It represented their one being. One being from two. Or from three, since Jaden was technically two beings. Or whatever. It meant something to them. It was Jesse's idea, but of course it was. Jaden didn't understand the symbolism; he didn't understand the finer points. Jaden was a man of action – he wasn't defined by what he said or planned, but by what he did in the heat of the moment. Jesse was more calculated, more analytical. The two completed each other, just as Jaden helped Jesse complete his Crystal Beast Deck. Just as Jesse's Rainbow Dragon card helped Jaden complete his struggle against Yubel. They needed each other. They were a part of each other. Together, they were whole. Separated, they were more vulnerable. Jesse wasn't so sure Jaden understood that.

That's what Jesse was thinking that night of the falling rain. He was unable to sleep, although Jaden had drifted off immediately. He remembered staring out the window, thinking, _are we falling? Are we like the rain?_

Soon, Jesse thought he smelled some weird. Some fresh, like lemons. Nobody was cleaning the building this late at night. He thought he should open the window, but it was raining. He didn't have the strength anyway. He was too tired. Jesse lay down and yawned before turning over to face Jaden. He didn't even have the energy to kiss him before he drifted off to sleep.

He was jerked awake by a bump. Or at least, it felt like a bump. Bumps meant movement, and why would he be moving? He opened his eyes. He was sitting upright, his head resting on Jaden's. He was groggy, but from the looks of it, he and Jaden were in a car.

Cars were bad. Cars meant other people. Cars meant movement away from Duel Academy.

Movement away from Duel Academy by other people meant kidnapping.

Especially while they were sleeping. What a cheap move.

Jesse also noticed he was wearing his duel disk. Weird. One look told him that his deck was gone.

His deck! Where was it? Had whoever kidnapped him taken his deck? It was all too much. He tried to focus his energy on calling out to the Crystal Beasts and to the Rainbow Dragon, but it was no use. He couldn't sense their spirits. That had never happened before, except for when he was trapped within the Rainbow Dragon card by Yubel's magic. Either the cards were destroyed, or something magical was blocking their spiritual link. Things had officially gone from bad to worse.

He felt Jaden stir next to him. That was a good sign – Jaden was waking up. Jaden always made things better. If anybody knew what to do, it would be Jaden.

He yawned and stretched his arms. "Good morning!" he said lazily, keeping his head on Jesse's shoulder. The two were about the same height, although Jesse had a few inches on Jaden. Maybe not even a few. Sometimes, depending on what shoes they were wearing, Jaden was imperceptibly taller.

"Jaden!" he said. "Get us outta this mess!"

Jaden looked around, confused. "What mess?" he stated, as if waking up with your boyfriend in different clothes from what you went to bed in and with your empty duel disk strapped to your arm in a car with a destination that you didn't know that was being driven by strangers was the most perfectly natural thing in the world.

"How're we gonna get outta here? Jaden! This is bad!" Jesse was whispering. Although there was a screen blocking them from the front half of the vehicle, he didn't want to alert them.

"Well," Jaden said, thinking, "We must still be on Academy Island. So I say we just call for help."

Okay, maybe Jaden didn't always know what to do. "Uhh, Jaden," Jesse said, "We don't have phones."

"So we'll just ask the guy up there for his!"

Jesse considered. "I could hit you right now," he said. "I'm seriously considering it."

Jaden was about to say something, but stopped for a brief second. "Hey," he said, "did you feel something?"

"No, like what?"

"Like a tingle in the back of your head."

"No I – yes, I just felt it."

"Do you have any idea what it means?"

Jesse shook his head. "No idea."

Jaden grimaced. "Well, it looks like we'll find out soon."

_Sooner than we thought_, Jesse remembered. That tingling feeling was actually something tapping into their physical beings. Something very powerful. Could it have been Yubel? No, this was an outside force, and Yubel didn't have this kind of power anymore. She had been turned benevolent, but remained much less powerful than her former, evil self.

The next thing Jesse remembered was being blinded. In the movies and television shows, everything would go white. This was the opposite experience – everything was dark. Pitch black. He raised a hand, but couldn't see it. "Jaden!" he called out. "You there!"

"It is me," a voice answered. Female. Not Jaden's, but familiar. Yubel. "I'm sorry Jesse, but I had to protect Jaden from them. Protecting Jaden meant protecting you. For that, I am sorry."

What? Jesse had never been terribly fond of Yubel – being possessed and having your soul locked away was kind of a big thing to get over in a couple of weeks – but he never thought she'd say something so piercing. "You're sorry for protecting me?" he asked, incredulity dripping through his voice.

"Yes," her voice came. "You see, they are a good force. A force of light. They wanted to help you. But I couldn't let them take Jaden. They sensed two souls and didn't know which one to target, so they went for you both. I had to hold them back. Going with them would put Jaden in more danger."

But he's already in danger! Jesse wanted to scream. And that doesn't make any sense. Why would she protect Jaden from the people who wanted to help him?

But he didn't ask that. "Where are we right now?"

Although he couldn't see her, he could feel her shrug. "I don't know. My guess is that my magic interfered with their magic and transported us somewhere else. It will only be a matter of time before they find us here."

Oh, great. So this was for nothing.

"Why can't you just let them help us?" Jesse yelled at her. "And where's Jaden right now?"

He heard her laugh. "Jaden's right here - I'm speaking through him. He can hear every bit of our conversation." Once again, Jesse sensed her cock Jaden's head to the side. "Have I never spoken directly to you before, Jesse?"

"Just answer the question," came his dry response.

"Very well. They are an old magic. A highly sought-after magic. As old as I am, although both our existences are shrouded in mystery. At one point, they wanted to stop the Supreme King. They predicted that his power was too great and would eventually fall into the wrong hands. They feared the destruction of the twelve dimensions." Her voice dropped. "As you know, that almost happened. Jaden gave into the power of the Supreme King and I was on the verge of using that power to destroy everything. And you were the means to both ends."

"So you just wanted to save face? Is that what this is about? My cards were stolen! Some of the most powerful cards in the universe! Do you have any idea what kind of destruction they could unleash in the wrong hands?"

"You must let me finish," she said, sounding irritated. Or maybe because she was speaking through Jaden, it was a he. Or whatever. Yubel was speaking.

"Everything in magic has balance. What is set in motion must be completed or stopped entirely. Otherwise, the scale will tip, and the harmony will be thrown off. Just slightly, but just slightly is enough to carry much bigger ramifications than any of us are willing to deal with."

Although she couldn't see him, Jesse nodded. Who knows, maybe she could sense him. "So," he began, trying to make sense of everything, "Jaden gave into the power of the Supreme King, but they're now united, so that's been stopped, correct? And you were on the verge of uniting the twelve dimensions, but you were stopped. So what's left?"

She sighed. "That's right. You wouldn't know. Jaden and I never finished our duel. We were united. The game never ended."

Oh.

"So somebody's out there trying to reunite the dimensions? How?"

"Jesse, do you really think it was coincidence that, out of everybody who was in Duel Academy, I chose you to possess?"

"I thought you did that because I was the only one on the platform."

She chuckled, an impish laugh. "Not exactly. There was also your friend Adrian. And you forget: my power was strong. I could have had anyone, except the Supreme King himself. No, I chose you because of the power of your Crystal Beasts."

"Because you needed Rainbow Dragon."

"Yes!" she cried. "The amount of energy within that card is enormous – I've rarely seen anything like it. You must recover it."

"So why did you hold us back?"

"This isn't Jaden's battle to fight. It isn't mine, either. We will only end up upsetting the balance even more." She paused. "Jaden must be protected from this. He can have no part. Yet."

"Yubel," Jesse said. "You're not making any sense. You can talk to these people, right? Explain your case to them, not to me."

"Jaden does not want to listen to me," she said. "But he is dealing with things beyond his comprehension. So are you Jesse. If you both are wise, you will listen to me. Otherwise, I will have to intervene." Although it was dark, Jesse could feel her stare. "I do not wish for us to become enemies, Jesse Anderson. I simply must do what I can to protect Jaden's spirit."

Jesse felt another tingle. "Here they come. Let us go, Yubel!"

"I can't!" she cried out.

"Then I'll make you!" Jesse ran, blinding, in the direction of the sound of Yubel's voice. He knocked into something – Jaden.

"Jesse! This is not a good decision!" Yubel cried out, right next to Jesse's ear.

"Yes it is!" Jesse said through gritted teeth. A minute later, everything whirled out of control. More wind. And then Jesse and Jaden landed on their bottoms, roughly shaken, at the feet of four people not much older than they we're – two boys and two girls. One of the girls, with lush, sable hair, winked at them cheerfully. She looked like some combination of Asian and Brazilian. "Guess you decided it was time to drop in!"

Jesse smiled ruefully, taking in his surroundings. They were sitting on dirt, and it was hot. Really hot. He looked up at the four figures. The first thing he noticed was that they all had different hair colors. One boy had dark brown hair, bronzed skin, and deep blue eyes. The other boy's hair was blonde, and his skin was also bronzed. His eyes, too, were blue. Jesse thought they must be brothers, because they both stood at about the same height – much taller than both him and Jaden, as they were both pretty short as far as boys went. The girl standing next to the black-haired girl had hair like fire. It was crimson, and hey tawny eyes blazed against her fair skin. Out of them all, she was the only pale one, as if she hadn't been underneath the sun long enough to acquire a tan. If anything could have intimidated Jesse, it was her. The girls were shorter than the boys, with the sable-haired one being the shortest.

They called themselves the Oracles. As in, people who predicted future events, or something like that. You remember the one at Delphi, or in _Things Fall Apart_? They were Blake, Alec, Geri, and Sari.

Everything had felt off since they showed up and zapped him and Jaden somewhere else to help them find the Crystal Beast Cards. Those cards were the closest thing he had to family - no, they were his family. He could talk with their spirits. He knew they were alive. They chose him. They were family.

Jaden was loving the attention he was getting from them - saving the world, again. But Jesse wasn't. Yubel's warning words echoed in his mind - this should have been his show. He needed to rescue his own cards. How could he ask Jaden and these strangers to go after something for him? No, it wasn't right, he concluded. Jesse Anderson would have to do this on his own.

But first, he needed a deck.

And he knew how to get one. Better that Jaden wouldn't know. Better to leave quietly so Jaden wouldn't follow. Wouldn't be in danger. Jaden would be safe with these strangers – the Oracles. They saved him for some reason: they'd protect him.

Jesse Anderson was on a mission. He was going to save his family.

He was going to keep Jaden safe. Like Yubel said, Jaden must have no part in this. His battle would be later.

Jesse looked around, but didn't see anyone. Strange, he thought, for they were here a minute before. However, it was better like this. And so, Jesse Anderson began to walk - Heaven knows where, but he began to walk.

He had only gone a few feet when a voice commanded, "Stop!"

Jesse whirled on the spot.

It was the dark brown haired boy. "My name is Blake," he said. "I am the leader of the Oracles. My domain is the near future."

Jesse nodded, not sure of why he was being spoken to.

"By the way," Blake said, you might want to get back under the roof. It's going to rain in a few minutes."

Jesse scowled.

He shrugged. This guy was very easy-going, it seemed. "Fine, have it your way, but don't say I didn't warn ya."

"What do you want with me?" Jesse asked. He was angry and frustrated and about to do something about it.

"To warn you. You lost your cards – they are a great power. You will not be safe without one of your own."

Jesse didn't consider this for a second. "But I must go," he said. "I must protect this world from them."

He left out the part about somebody trying to destroy the twelve dimensions, or whatever it was that Yubel meant.

"Then you must be protected," Blake calmly stated.

"No!" Jesse said with much more emotion than Blake. "No, I can't allow you to risk yourself!"

Blake gave a knowing smirk - that meant he knew something. Jesse hated knowing smirks, unless he was the one who was doing the smirking. "Who ever said I would?"

Jesse was caught. "What do you mean?"

"Oracle of the Near Future!" Blake stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I know what will happen before it happens."

Jesse blanched. "Yeah, right. I suppose it's going to rain in a few minutes too, right?"

As if on cue, a raindrop splashed on Jesse's cheek.

Blake laughed. "No, I'd say that it's raining right now. I also believe you're feeling quite stupid."

Jesse didn't dare admit that he was right.

Blake's expression changed to one of concern. "Look, I don't want us getting off on the wrong foot. You're a duelist, and an exceptionally powerful one at that. Your cards were unjustly seized from you and are could be used for any number of dangerous and threatening undertakings. You hold the key to getting them back, and although you do not have a deck, you do have one small advantage."

"What's that?"

"In order for their full power to be realized, you must be defeated in a duel while holding those cards. No tricks allowed. Until that happens, their true power will not come to those who hold them." He paused. "I believe this gives us a fighting chance."

Oh.

"I have something for you," Blake said. "Normally, you would have to duel me for it, but since you conveniently don't have a deck, I can just give it to you." He winked. "But you should probably come out of the rain. I don't think you want this to get wet."

Jesse didn't even realize there was water falling on him until Blake mentioned it. He sprinted forward, under the cover of the roof. "What is it?"

In response, Blake held out a Duel Monster's card.

Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle.

"When we tried to yank you and your friend out of that car, I sensed more spirits than I had intended. There was a large, powerful one—"

Yubel, Jesse thought.

"—and two smaller, strong ones. We pulled on these small ones. One of them was Winged Kuriboh, and the other was this." He smiled. "I suppose Ruby is your spirit partner?"

Jesse delicately took the card and shrugged. "You could say that all of the Crystal Beasts are my spirit partners."

Blake said nothing to this, as if weighing what Jesse had said. Finally, "That is good. It gladdens me to know that the Crystal Beasts have such a strong connection with you."

"Why's that?"

"You're going to need it," was the grim answer.

Oh.

Blake continued. "Now, I suggest that you wait until we can get you properly outfitted before you go off chasing everyone. We'll have to go somewhere else for that."

Jesse looked around, noticing the absence of Jaden and the others. "Is that where they all went?"

"More or less."

"You realize that that doesn't tell me anything."

Blake laughed, a real laugh this time. "I know," he said. "I'm just messing with ya. Yes, they're all gone. And we should go too."

Jesse blinked in confusion. "How?"

Blake extended his hand. "Take it," he said, "and let your mind wander."

Jesse reached out and took Blake's hand.

He was going to see Jaden and the other Oracles.

Maybe it wasn't so wrong to include them in his quest after all. They obviously had reasons, although he wasn't quite sure what they were.

"Relax," came Blake's soothing voice.

They took a step forward.

* * *

><p>Yeah, yeah, cliffhanger, sorry, but I had to end it here. If it fancies you, please review! I'd love to hear what you have to say about the story, to critique my writing, and to tell me how absolutely bewildered you are (remember, you don't know anything about these "Oracles" yet - they're all original characters, all an original concept (or at least, not one I've encountered before)). Of course, I can't actually explain anything before it's written, but all of your questions (that I am aware of) will be answered in due time, I promise. Some of them should even be answered by the careful reading of this chapter. Like all good first chapters, if you make the right connections, you can form a pretty good idea of how the rest of the story is going to form. I just hope I didn't do too much...<p>

With that, I thank-you again, and until next time. If you're reading this after the publication of Chapter 2, go back and reread the last few lines, then skip right to Chapter 2, because the story continues right where it left off. Yes, this could have been one mega-long chapter, guys.

- JakillNearBeg  
>Hobey ho, let's go.<br>(Yes, that was a reference. Pendragon. Ten points if you knew it.)

/Edited Sunday, October 16, 2011


	2. Test Duels

Once again, guys, thanks for taking the time to read! Previous disclaimers all apply and whatnot. All mistakes are still mine, but I encourage you to point them out. This one isn't as long and there's more action...see my notes at the bottom (after you read!).

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<br>Test Duels **

And another step forward.

Jesse found himself, still holding Blake's hand, on the driveway of a house. A simple, plain, white, western house. There was grass everywhere, and he could make out sand not too far behind the backyard. The driveway was asphalt, black. The door was red with a golden knob. There were four windows on the front and what looked like a garage on the side.

In other words, it was a totally normal house.

Another house.

The first thing Jesse noticed that was off was that there were no other houses in the neighborhood. Nothing. It was just grass and one street, stretching out for miles. Eventually other streets would branch off this one, and these too would continue going, with no houses or sidewalks accompanying them in their spider-webbed tangle. Jesse wasn't sure if they were on an island or not.

The second thing he noticed the sand dunes. Or the lack of them. He could clearly see the ocean, although he wasn't on the beach.

The third thing he noticed was that it was totally silent. No white noise. No birds making noise. Even the crash of the ocean upon the beach was unable to be heard. The unnatural silence was eerie and very unsettling.

Blake motioned for him to come inside. "Enter," he said, "and let's go find your friend."

"Jaden," Jesse said. "His name is Jaden."

Blake nodded. "I'll remember it," he said.

Jesse believed him.

The door swung open, as if Blake used telekinesis or something. From what Jesse had seen of him so far, he either wasn't human or he had very powerful magical resources.

Which would mean he wasn't human. Gah.

The inside of the house was...generally huge. From the outside, it didn't look impressive, but inside, it was gigantic. More magic at work, Jesse thought.

"Everyone is downstairs," came Blake's level voice. Jesse spun his head to the nearest doorway. It was open, showing a staircase. "Come."

The stairs were stone and long, the kind that mostly go forwards instead of down. However, Jesse found that it took him all of three seconds to go down all those stairs, walking. How many had he counted? Twenty? He knew that it took about fifteen paces to cross each stair, so how had he…? More magic at work, he supposed. Jesse was already getting tired of this.

He was in a large room, with seven doors scattered around the perimeter, the one on the left of which was clear and led to the backyard. Blake was heading through the door directly ahead. Jesse followed.

Inside was a sight that totally shocked him and filled him with a sense of well-being.

The room was a mother lode of Duel Monsters cards. As in, vast collections. Some cards were packed away, while others were in display cases under headings. There were rows of these cases, and at the back of the room there was what looked to be an altar, etched from marble, with a steel blue box sitting on top of it, the lid tightly locked.

And then there was Jaden, frantically leaping from one display case to the other, looking at all the cards.

Some things never change.

Jesse looked at Blake. "You want me to assemble my own deck from all of these cards?"

Blake nodded. "We've assembled most every card there is, so feel free to take whichever ones you'd like. Unfortunately, your Crystal Beast cards are one-of-a-kind, so we don't have them."

Jesse shrugged. "That's fine," he said. "I won those cards in a regional championship, remember? I had a deck before them!"

Blake smiled. "That's what I was counting on. Now go ahead, pick what you want. Then, you'll have to duel us." He motioned to mean all of the Oracles. "If you lose to any one of us, your deck is insufficient and will need to be reworked." He winked. "So don't lose. We will leave you and Jaden in peace to help you assemble. Meet us out back when you're done."

They began walking out before the sable-haired girl turned around. "By the way, Jaden, feel free to take whatever you think you need. You're a part of this too, okay?"

_More than you could possibly know_, Jesse thought.

He closed his eyes. It was time to build a deck.

Two hours later, Jesse emerged from the card sanctuary, confident in his abilities. He was piloting a new deck, one with which he was very familiar with but never actually dared use. The cards called out to him, and he knew that they would be his companions on their way to rescue the Crystal Beasts. The cards did not focus on destroying an opponent's cards, but rather limited an opponent's options as they led their assault. Their friendly appearance made them overlooked by many duelists, but Jesse was confident in them.

Jaden, of course, picked up a bunch of new toys as well. But, that's exactly the kind of thing Jaden would do.

The two made their ways through the transparent door and into the backyard of the house. Or, you could call it a backyard, but there were no boundaries marking it as anything other than a field of grass. A field of grass that made a prime dueling arena.

The four Oracles were out there to meet them. Blake smiled. "Like I said, you're going to be dueling all four of us. Jesse, are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" he called out.

The four Oracles grinned. "Good," Blake said. "Then Sari will be your first challenge."

The girl with the flaming hair stepped forward, brandishing the duel disk on her arm. It was an older model, probably one of the originals, with a cloudy gray case and dazzling glass-blue slots. Its edges pointed, and it looked razor-sharp. The girl, Sari, stood opposite of Jesse. "You sure you're up for this, Jesse? We're not going easy on you."

Jesse faltered – he didn't expect this friendly reaction from the girl whose hair looked to be ablaze, and whose face was normally set in a determined scowl. "Uh, yeah, sure I am! You're looking at one of the top-ranked duelists in the world!"

"Amateur duelists," Sari corrected. "A duelist who's using a deck he has no practice with."

"How do you know that?" he challenged. It seemed perfectly logical to him that everyone else would deduce that he would use whatever cards he used to win Pegasus's prize from that regional tournament.

She shrugged, almost bored. "I am Sari, Oracle of the Past. Although it pains me to admit it, as you have never used this deck, I am at the same disadvantage as you are in that I do not know what you are running. Be warned, though, from those after me will have the Future and the Past on their sides."

Jesse snuck a look towards the others, all of whom had Duel Disks on their arms. The blonde boy – Jesse supposed he was Alec – had his on the opposite side. A lefty, no doubt. He knew Blake was the Oracle of the Near Future, so that left Alec and – Geri? – to be either Present and Future, assuming those were even the correct fields. Or zones. Or tenses. Whatever.

"Draw your cards."

Hunh? Jesse looked over to Sari to see that she had already drawn. Her Duel Disk was in dueling mode, and her holographic projectors were already at the corners of the field. Realizing he was far behind, Jesse turned, stylishly releasing his holographic projectors and turning his Duel Disk into dueling mode as well. He drew five cards.

Sari smirked. "Well," she said, "challengers first!"

Jesse assumed that meant him. "If you say so!" he called out, drawing a card.

It was a monster card – Wattdragonfly. Jesse looked at the other five cards in his hand: Honest, Card of Sanctity, Wattgiraffe, Wattcannon, and Wattcine. Already, he had a plan, and Jesse knew he could count on this deck just as much as he could count on his old deck. The Test Duels were to prove that.

"I place one monster facedown!" he called out, slapping the Wattdragonfly card into face-down defense position, "And I'll throw down a face down as well!"

"Hey!" Jaden yelled. "That's my line!"

Jesse gave him a look as if to say, Sorry dude.

Sari stood as confident as ever. "Is that the best you can do?" she asked. "In that case, this match will be over before it begins. Now watch!" She draw her card and turned it around. "Destiny Draw" she announced. "I'm sure you're familiar with what this does after hanging around with your friend Aster for so long."

"How'd you get that card?" Jaden yelled.

"Not many things are as exclusive as you think," she answered, placing the card in her Duel Disk. "Now, by discarding one Destiny Hero monster from my hand—" she dropped Destiny Hero – Disc Commander in her graveyard, "—I can draw two cards! Not a bad first move, is it?"

Sari picked up two cards from the top of her deck, smiling as she saw them. "Here's one for you right now! Evil Hero Infernal Prodigy! Since I control no monsters, this is a Special Summon!"

The monster appeared on the field. _Okay_, Jesse thought, _this monster is weak. He's not a threat to me._

Jaden was staring, dumbfounded. "How did you…?" he croaked out.

"Like I said!" Sari snapped at him. "You cards aren't as exclusive as you think. Now, say goodbye to Infernal Prodigy and say hello to Evil Hero Malicious Edge!"

"Uhh, Jaden?" Jesse asked. "That's bad, right?"

"You could say that," Jaden said. "Got anything?"

"Uhh, not really."

"Nice knowing. ya, pal."

"Jaden! That didn't help."

"Sorry!"

"Will you two stop blabbering!" Sari yelled. In the place of the smaller monster was a much large monster, standing almost six feet tall – taller than either of them – and with deadly, razor-sharp claws. "Now, Malicious Edge!" Sari shouted, "Crush his monster!"

The field dashed forward almost quicker than the eye could follow and obliterated Jesse's facedown monster – Wattdragonfly.

Jesse's Life Points dropped down from 4000 to 1400. "What!" he cried out. "How did that happen?"

"Evil Hero Malicious Edge inflects piercing damage. Your monsters aren't safe in Defense Mode."

Oh.

"Well I'm not out yet!" Jesse replied. "Wattdragonfly's ability allows me to search my deck for any Watt monster and special summon it! And I choose Wattmole! But first, say hello to my facedown card, Wattcannon!"

Jesse flipped the facedown trap card. "Now every time a low-level Thunder-type monster is summoned, you get slammed with 600 points of damage! And I'm special summoning Wattmole!"

The monster appeared on the field. It was almost cartoonish, with broad, black shades across its eyes. The toy cannon began to glow and fired once at Sari, knocking her backwards. She managed to remain upright.

Sari's Life Points dropped from 4000 to 3400.

"Interesting choice," Sari said. "I'll place a card facedown and end my turn." A back row appeared behind her Malicious Edge.

"My draw!" Jesse announced, taking a card. "I activate Pot of Greed!" he announced. "Now I can draw two more cards!"

And so he did.

Book of Moon. Swords of Revealing Light.

Saved.

"For my first move, I summon Wattgiraffe! That means you lose another 600 Life Points!"

The cannon fired again as the adorable yellow giraffe took its place on the field. This time, Sari was prepared for it, and took the blast without breaking a sweat. Her Life Points dropped again, from 3400 to 2800.

"Yeah Jesse!" Jaden exclaimed.

He grinned. "There's more! Now I activate a spell card, Wattcine! Now every time a Thunder-type monster of mine inflects battle damage to you, I gain that amount of Life Points!"

"A recovery card," Sari noted. "Good choice."

"Now Wattgiraffe! Attack her Life Points directly!"

"What? Jaden exclaimed."

"Some Watt monsters have the ability to wager direct attacks on their opponents," Sari explained. "However, due to their powerful effects, their attack points are quite low. And speaking of attacks, I reveal my trap card! Go, Limit Reverse!"

"That's not changing my plan at all!" Jesse said. "Wattgiraffe will negate your trap card as soon as it inflects damage!"  
>"Which is why my trap card is resolving first," said Sari calmly. "Bring back Destiny Hero – Disc Commander!"<p>

The monster reappeared on the field. "When Disc Commander is revived from the graveyard, I get to draw two cards!" She picked up two more, bringing her hand size to 5.

Wattgiraffe's attack connected, causing Sari to lose 1200 Life Points. Her score dropped from 2800 to 1600. Jesse's Life Points rose from 1400 to 2600.

"Who's leading now?" he asked.

"This is temporary!" she answered. "I still have Malicious Edge, and he'll wipe you out next turn!

Jesse waved a finger. "I don't think so!" so answered. "Book of Moon!"

Sari's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Oh but I just did! Book of Moon will flip your Evil Hero Malicious Edge into face-down defense position, making him easy prey for my Mole."

Wattmole dashed forward to attack the facedown card, destroying it with a swipe of its claw.

The Life Point score remained the same.

"I think I'll finish my turn with a spell card – Swords of Revealing Light! Now you can't attack any of my monsters, so I'm safe!"

"We'll see about that," came Sari's reply.

_Uh-oh_, Jesse thought. He looked down at his hand. Honest. Card of Sanctity. Unless he came up with a plan, fast, he was done. He needed a good draw.

"Your move," he finished.

Sari picked up a card.

"I play Monster Reborn!"

She had to pick that card.

"Guess who's coming back? Malicious Edge!"

The hated monster rose from the grave. Sari smiled. "And now I'll sacrifice Destiny Hero – Disc Commander to summer Raiza the Storm Monarch!"

"A monarch? Jeez, you're full of surprises!"

For a second, he thought he saw her eyes gleam. "Not as many as you are, Jesse Anderson."

What the heck did that mean?

"Using Raiza's effect, I'll return Swords of Revealing Light to the top of your deck!" She smiled. "Any last words?"

"Yeah. I'm not going down just yet!"

"I'll be the judge of that," she said. "Now Evil Hero Malicious Edge, attack Wattmole and end this duel!"

This was bad. Malicious Edge had exactly 2600 attack points, and Wattmole had a grand total of nothing. One attack would bring Jesse down to zero. Unless…

"I activate the effect of Honest!" he announced. "By discarding this card from my hand, Wattmole gains attack points equal to Malicious Edge!"

"So they'll destroy each other!" Sari cried out.

"Exactly."

As Malicious Edge approached, Wattmole grow in size. The two monsters attacked each other, their sharp claws meeting. An explosion occurred, destroying both monsters, leaving both player's Life Points untouched. Jesse wiped his forehead. "Whew," he said. "That was close!"

"Raiza, attack Wattgiraffe!"

Ah, yikes.

The green Monarch pressed its hands forward, unleashing a vortex of green wind. Wattgiraffe was destroyed immediately, and Jesse's Life Points dropped from 2600 back to 1400.

"That will end my turn, Jesse."

Jesse drew, although he knew exactly what card he was going to get. Swords of Revealing Light. He activated it, and the piercing yellow blades surrounded Sari's field.

_Three turns to do nothing_, he thought.

Unless.

"I activate a spell card! Card of Sanctity! Now we each draw cards from our decks until we're holding six!"

"So I pick up two," Sari said triumphantly.

"And I picked up six!" Jesse announced.

And so he drew. Monster Reborn. Wattpheasant. Beckoning Light. Shift. Thunder King Rai-oh. Watt King Cobra.

He could win.

"I summon Wattpheasant!" he announced. "Because of this, my Wattcannon takes out another 600 of your Life Points!"

The cannon fired, and Sari's Life Points dropped from 1600 to 1000.

The exact number of attack points of Wattpheasant.

"Now Wattpheasant, attack her Life Points directly!"

The bird dove, striking Sari directly on the chest. Her Life Points dropped from 1000 to 0. As a result of Wattcine, Jesse's rose from 1400 to 2400.

The images faded.

Sari smiled. "Good job, Jesse," she said. "You proved you can withstand brute force. The other challenges will involve more strategy."

"Then I suppose I'd better be up to them!" he said.

Sari nodded. "That's one way of putting it."

Jaden ran up to Jesse. "Man, that was awesome! That new deck of yours sure rocks!"

Jesse smiled. "I suppose it does, Jaden," he said, ruffling his boyfriend's hair affectionately. Jesse wasn't still entirely sure about having Jaden around – Yubel's warning words still echoed in his mind – but he knew that if anyone could push him to get through this, it would be Jaden. If he was in trouble, Jesse had no doubt that, through his and Yubel's combined powers, he would be safe.

"_They are an old magic._"she had said._ "A highly sought-after magic. As old as I am, although both our existences are shrouded in mystery. At one point, they wanted to stop the Supreme King. They predicted that his power was too great and would eventually fall into the wrong hands. They feared the destruction of the twelve dimensions._

"_Do these people know who Jaden really is?"_ Jesse thought. "_If so, what are they going to do about it? Why do they fear the power of the Supreme King?"_

"You know," came Geri's voice. "I never actually thought that I would take somebody with blue hair this seriously."

Jesse was suddenly embarrassed by his hair color. "It's natural!" he shouted at her.

Geri's look told him that she doubted it.

Jesse said, "So, which one of you guys am I dueling next?"

The three remaining Oracles looked among themselves. "Me," said the blonde-haired Alec, stepping forward. I hope you're ready for it."

"_I hope I am too," _Jesse thought.

Alec handed Jesse his deck to shuffle, and Jesse did the same. Alec spoke as he shuffled Jesse's cards. "Watt monsters can be very annoying to face, but as you saw, they run out of options quickly and are hard to maintain on the field. I suggest you combine them with something else. Otherwise, you'll be done quickly."

It was Jesse's time to give a knowing smirk. "Well then," he said, "I guess you'll be in for another surprise!"

"Let's hope so," Alec said. "I am the Oracle of the Present. I can tell what is happening, when it is happening."

"That gives you an unfair advantage!" Jesse cried.

"Exactly," Alec said. "For that reason, I will use my abilities. Do you really expect that whoever stole your Crystal Beast cards will play by the rules?"

Jesse exhaled. "I suppose not," he said.

"Exactly. Now draw your five cards and make your move."

_"First again_," Jesse thought. _"I suppose I'd better make the best of it!"_

Gravity Bind. Beckoning Light. Heart of Clear Water. Wattsquirrel. Wattdragonfly.

One more card.

"I'll begin my turn by placing a monster in face-down defense mode!" he said, placing Wattdragonfly in face-down defense. "Then I'll throw down a facedown and it'll be your move!"

Alec smirked. "You made that exact same move last time!" He drew a card. "Now watch mine! I play a spell card – Painful Choice!"

"Painful Choice?" Jesse asked. "That's one of the most powerful cards in the game."

"Exactly, and I know how to use it. I select five cards from my deck and you choose one of them to add to my hand. The other four go to my graveyard. So take your pick!"

Wulf, the Lightsworn Beast. Fabled Soulkius. Mezuki. Plaguespreader Zombie. Ehren, Lightsworn Monk.

"Not much of a choice," Jesse remarked.

"That's the point."

Jesse considered. _"Well, no matter what I choose, he'll be able to take that Fabled Soulkius card and send it right back to the graveyard, as well as summon it! So the best way to slow him down is to choose that Fabled monster."_

"I select Fabled Soulkius!"

Alec sent the other four cards to his graveyard. "As I predicted you would. Now, due to the effect of Wulf, he is immediately Special Summoned to the field."

As if on cue, the large, fearsome monster appeared in Attack Position.

"Now I summon Lumina, the Lightsworn Summoner!" Alec said, and a female monster appeared on the field.

"What do these Lightsworn cards do?" Jesse asked.

"You'll find that out soon," Alec replied. "Now, I activate her ability. By discarding one care from my hand—" Fabled Soulkius "—I can summon one low-level Lightsworn Monster from my graveyard! So come back Ehren!"

Another female monster appeared, but Alec wasn't done. "Next, I'll discard two cards from my hand—" Glow-up Bulb and Magician of Black Chaos "—in order to summon Fabled Soulkius from the graveyard!"

The fallen angel appeared, giving Alec four monsters.

Jesse took a step back. "Woah," he said. "Four monsters in one turn?"

Alec grinned. "And all of them aimed at you! One last thing," he said. "Mystical Space Typhoon! Say good-bye to your Gravity Bind."

"How did you know?" Jesse nearly cried out.

"I told you I wasn't going easy on you, Jesse," he said. "Now Ehren, attack his facedown monster! Send it back to his deck!"

The female monster leapt and dove with her heel extended. She went right through the card, and it disappeared from Jesse's Duel Disk and appeared at the top of his deck. The machine shuffled.

Now he had a clear field!

"Lumina, attack Jesse directly!" Alec called out.

The Spellcaster Monster unleashed a flurry of light in Jesse's direction, causing his Life Points to drop from 4000 to 3000.

"Now Wulf! Your turn!"

The beast monster rushed at Jesse and swung its axe, cutting Jesse's Life Points from 3000 to 900.

Alec grinned. "I guess it's time for you to start rebuilding," he said. "Fabled Soulkius, finish him off!"

The monster opened its mouth, but nothing happened.

Now it was Jesse's turn to grin. "Not so fast!" he said. "I summoned my Gorz the Emissary of Darkness card as a result of your Wulf's attack! And now you take 2100 points of Effect Damage!"

Alec's Life Points dropped from 4000 to 1900. He smiled. "Very good, but you're just holding on. You don't have to cards to whittle down my Life Points and restore your own this time, and even if you attack Lumina, I'll still have 200 Life Points to spare."

This was true.

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Alec said before taking the top six cards of his deck and sending them to the graveyard.

"Why'd you do that?" Jesse asked.

"Some Lightsworn Monsters have requirements for staying on the field. Both Ehren and Lumina require me to discard the top 3 cards of my deck."

By Jesse's count, that left him with only 24 cards. What a reckless strategy!

"My turn!" he said, drawing. Graceful Charity. Perfect.

"I activate Graceful Charity! Now I can draw three cards and discard two!"

Wattcube. Giant Trunade. Archfiend of Gilfer

"I'll discard these two!" he said, placing those two cards in his graveyard. "Now I'll activate a Spell Card known as Giant Trunade! This sends all Spell and Trap cards on the field back to their owner's hands!"

And thus, Alec's facedown went sent back.

"Now I'll summon my Wattsquirrel!"

Alec's face dropped. He knew what was coming.

Jesse grinned. "You said that Watt monsters didn't maintain much field presence, and you're right. So it's a good thing I mixed in my Gorz to help cover my back!"

Jaden was in awe. Gorz the Emissary of Darkness was a near-legendary card that few people possessed. How did these Oracles obtain it? Of course, now that Jesse was officially kicking butt, it didn't matter.

Jesse explained, "Wattsquirrel has the ability to attack twice during one battle phase. However, it's a rather weak monster. But, with a bit of a power boost, that's no longer an issue! So I play the Equip Spell card Wattcube!

"Normally, this card only increases Wattsquirrel's attack points by 100 for every Thunder-type Monster in my graveyard. However, by sending this card from my field to the grave, my monster gains 1000 Attack points, raising its strength to 1700! That's plenty enough to take out two of your Lightsworn Monsters and let Gorz pick up the pieces."

Alec's face hardened. He didn't like where this was going.

"Now Wattsquirrel," Jesse called, "Attack Ehren!"

The tiny rodent dashed forward and clawed Ehren, destroying her. Alec's Life Points dropped from 1900 to 1800.

"Now attack Lumina!" he called. Once again, Wattsquirrel dashed forward to destroy the Lightsworn Monster. Alec's Life Points dropped from 1800 to 1100. He smirked.

"Well, it seems that I'll live through this next turn after all!"

Jesse smirked in return. "I don't think so," he said. "Gorz, attack Wulf and finish him off!" A dark orb of energy appeared in Gorz's hand, and he pushed it towards Wulf. The Lightsworn Beast shattered into pieces, and Alec's Life Points dropped from 1100 to 0.

He blinked.

The field cleared. Jaden came running up. "How'd you do it?" he asked.

Jesse's response was to take a card from his graveyard and show it to him. "Archfiend of Gilfer," he said. "When it's sent to the graveyard, by an effect such as Graceful Charity, it equips to an opponent's monster and lowers that monster's attack by 500 points. So I chose to lower Wulf's strength to 1600. That made a 1100 points different between its attack strength and Gorz's. Alec couldn't predict that because—" he spun around to meet Alec, a triumphant grin plastered on his face, "—because it was a snap decision! Alec had no way of knowing I would discard Archfiend of Gilfer with Graceful Charity or blow away his facedown card with Giant Trunade, and therefore he couldn't prepare. Right?"

Alec smiled and held up a card. "Exactly. My facedown Lightsworn Barrier was my only protection – I figured you'd go for Lumina and Ehren due to their effects – so I had to save them. Your Spell Card blew my Trap off the field, so it was useless. Good job, Jesse!" He gave the blue-haired boy an affectionate punch on the shoulder and was gone.

Jesse looked around. "So, I'm beat. Can we hold off a little bit on the next two?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah. Those were short duels, but they were intense. You didn't even let Alec get out any of his trump monsters!"

Jesse rubbed his back in embarrassment at the compliment. "Yeah, well, that was kind of the goal. If he can summon 4 monsters in one turn, I didn't want to stick around to see what else he could do!"

"Not a bad decision," Blake said, laughing.

Jaden looked around. "Well guys," he said, "I dunno about you, but since we're not dueling, can we get some chow?"

Geri exploded with laughter. "Ahahaha! I like this one, Blake! Hey, wait," she stopped laughing. "Why _are_ you here? I mean, why were those kidnappers interested in you anyway?"

Jaden blinked. "That's a good question," he said. "Maybe because they wanted Jesse and I'm his boyfriend?"

Blake and Geri blinked. Twice. "No," Blake said carefully, his tone measured. "That doesn't make any sense. People draw strength from the ones they love, so it would only make sense to have you out of the picture entirely." He shrugged. "I'm surprised they didn't kill you."

Oh.

That's a cheery thought.

Jaden took it in stride. "Then maybe they wanted to use me for something?"

Geri sidled up to Jesse. "Does he also say obvious things like he'd proud of them?"

"What, Jaden?" Jesse replied. "Umm, yeah, I suppose he does."

Geri blinked again, clearly nonplussed. "What _did_ they want with him? That's really strange." She turned to him. "Hey, you, Jaden. You don't have any secret powers or something, do you?"

He grinned stupidly. "I have the power of the Supreme King!"  
>Well then. It didn't take very long to get that cat out of the bag.<p>

Blake grimaced. "So you're the one responsible for almost destroying everything that ever was or ever will be?"

Jaden considered. "Yeah, that's pretty much it," he said. "Hey, where'd the ginger girl go?"

"Jaden!" Jesse said. "This is serious! Didn't Yubel talk to you about this?"

"Yubel?" Geri piped up. "She's the guardian of the Supreme King." It was a statement, not a question. "Where is she?"

"Well, she's angry at the moment," Jesse muttered under his breath. These people looked as if they meant no harm, but he wasn't entirely sure what their reaction would be once they knew Jaden ad the Supreme King's Spirit inhabited a body shared by Yubel's spirit. That could go both ways.

Blake looked thoughtful as he rested in elbow in his palm and cupped his chin. "Well, we did sense a strong spirit interfering with our attempts to rescue you two. We thought it was the kidnappers, but it could have been Yubel." He shrugged. "I think she has a quarrel with us. Our ancestors believed that the power of the Supreme King would be misused, as it was, and would destroy the 12 dimensions, as it almost did. But then we learned the outcome of that struggle, and we have no further worries, as long as neither spirit is corrupted again."

So they pretty much knew the whole story. Okay.

"So," Blake said, turning to Jaden, "that makes you a pretty duelist, right? Having the power of the Supreme King and all that."

Jaden nodded.

"Then perhaps, as Jesse's final test, you won't mind doing a Tag Duel with us to see if Jesse's new deck has what it takes?"

"No, not at all!" Jaden said. "Man, this is sweet! Jesse, we're gonna Tag!"

Jesse smiled. "And we're gonna kick some butt too! I know we will, Jaden! We can't lose, because then we'll have to do the whole thing all over!"

Jaden gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "We won't leave because we have each other, Jesse! Remember that duel against Marcel?"

"Only too well! We had that Chaos Phantom right where we wanted him!"

Jaden gave Jesse a small kiss on the cheek, and Jesse was acutely aware of the blood rushing to his face. It was the first time they'd shown affection like this in front of other people.

"Okay," Jaden said, "Off to the food! Whoo!" He started running towards the house, fist in the air, leading the way.

"Your boyfriend is…interesting," Blake said, his tone of voice suggesting that "interesting" could mean any number of things. "Well," he said, slapping his hands together, "whatever, I suppose. Let's go eat, okay?"

Jesse nodded. "Who prepared the food?"

Blake's eyes gleamed. "What's the point of having magic if you have to prepare your own food?"

Jesse's eyed widened. "You mean you made a magical meal?"

"Something like that."

Jesse took off, racing behind Jaden. "Jaden! Save some for me!"

Geri exploded into another burst of laughter. "They're adorable, Blake," she said. "I wish they weren't in this position."

He nodded gravely. "I don't think either of them realizes the gravity of their situation, or why we even care."

"Besides the whole destruction of the world thing," she added helpfully.

He chuckled at that. "Yeah, besides that. I suppose we don't need another reason after that."

"I suppose not," she agreed.

Chasing Jaden. It seemed to be all that Jesse ever did. Running after Jaden. Man, the kid was fast! Jaden would start running and Jesse would be unable to catch up, although he tried. Sometimes he guessed that Jaden was just messing with him, toying with him, but then he remembered how out of character that was for Jaden. Jaden was playful. Sometimes, he'd slow down just enough for Jesse to catch him, and Jesse would leap, catch Jaden, and the two would tumble together in the grass. This time, however, Jaden was set on getting to the food, and with his faster running and his head-start, Jesse was left in the dust. He noticed that Alec and Sari had left immediately after their duels. Blake and Geri were ambling towards the house.

He suddenly felt like a little kid for running.

And like a little kid, he felt powerless for running. Always running after Jaden. Always running after something. Always being chased.

But now, he wanted nothing more than to talk to Jaden.

And so, Jesse Anderson ran. He ran towards the house. Towards the food. Towards Jaden.

Jaden called them boyfriends.

Jesse wasn't sure how happy he felt.

He didn't feel like a kid anymore, that much was certain.

* * *

><p>Yes, Watt cards. I felt like they matched well with Jesse and I saw several parallels with the Crystal Beasts. His cards are symbolic - part of my reason for writing this is to practice my foreshadowing abilities, trying to keep you guys on the edge and "why did he write that?" without having anything losing its believably, and if you guys have some good ideas of what's to come, but you haven't quite hit the nail on the head, then I'm doing my job. Feel free to share your thoughts in the review sections, and I thank you all for taking an interest in my writing.<p>

Also, I'd like a Beta for Chapter 3 to know if it steps over the boundaries of the "T" rating. There's a scene that very, well, you'll see. Nothing that wouldn't be in a YA book, but some YA books are geared more towards older teens than younger ones. I just want to be safe.


	3. Osculate

Hey guys! This is the third installment of _Time Constraints_. I'm afraid this one is super-long, like, it might be one of the longest chapters on the website. The word count on this website says it's 8,180 words, which is absolutely gigantic. So, if you enjoy reading long chapters, this is definitely your cup of tea. If not, then, um, sorry? The next one is shorter, and Chapter 5 is shaping up to be shorter than this as well. Yikes. I suppose I could have broken this chapter into two smaller ones, but that messes up my plan and everything, okay? :)

**Warning**: There's a scene in this chapter that gets a little racy, so viewer discretion is advised. Or reader discretion - you know what I mean. Fans of the Jesse/Jaden pairing will enjoy this one.

I'd like to take a final note to thank you all for reading my work and taking an interest in it. Please see my notes at the bottom once you've finished.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>  
><strong>Osculate<strong>

The food was good.

It was pretty standard lunch fare – chicken, salad, sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, cookies. Regardless, it was excellent. The six of them sat at a hexagonal table. Jesse sat between Jaden and Blake. Alec sat next to Blake and Sari. Geri sat between Jaden and Sari.

Everyone drilled them about their lives.

"So Jaden," Alec said, scooping a second helping of peas and corn onto his plate, "What did you do a Duel Academy? Make a name for yourself?"

"Yeah," Jaden said through a mouthful of chicken, looking up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember. "Let's see, in my first year I defeated the Secret Beast cards—"

Sari let out a low whistle.

"—and then last year, my second year, I saved the world from destruction by conquering the Light of Destruction inside Sartorius—"

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"—and then a few months ago I went after Jesse here into another dimension and stopped Yubel from uniting the twelve dimensions after I became an evil mastermind and nearly destroyed one of them myself. But my friends saved me before that could happen, so it all worked out!"

Alec blinked. "Okay," he said, either clearly impressed or slightly confused by Jaden's cheerful, nonchalant tone. "So I think you've done a good bit to prove yourself a strong duelist."

"Just a tad, though," Geri added playfully.

The sarcasm was totally lost on Jaden. "Wait," he said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Everyone laughed at the clueless Jaden.

"No guys, this is serious! What's so funny?"

Amidst the laughter, Blake leaned into Jesse and said, "No, I'm not worried about him at all. He seems like a good kid."

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, Jaden's one of the nicest people around. He's true to his friends and true to his word! He saved me from Yubel."

"Yeah, but he loved you. People will do anything for love."

"No," Jesse said, "Back then we were still friends. I'd only known him for a few weeks."

Blake blinked, but "I see" was all he said.

They finished the meal soon afterwards, and everyone excused themselves. Blake offered to show Jesse and Jaden to their room. "It's upstairs," he added.

The two boys followed the older one towards the front of the house and up the magnificent staircase. They were deposited in a wide hallway with doors all around.

"Yours is at the end of the hall," Blake said, moving briskly. The doors passed by, meaning nothing. "_So many choices",_ Jesse thought. "_So many choices, but we only take one. It's already been chosen for us."_

"This is it," Blake said, pushing the door open. He was right – it was the only room at the end of the hall. Inside, there was a large bed and a space wide enough to be a duel arena. He winked at Jaden. "Hope you boys enjoy. Be back down in a few hours."

And he left.

Jesse looked at Jaden and grinned. "So," he said, "Why don't we do just that? Enjoy?"

Jaden lifted an eyebrow, but he understood perfectly.

Jesse responded by kissing Jaden full on the mouth. Kissing Jaden always felt electric, and tingles of pleasure shot from every nerve in Jesse's body, forcing his eyes closed as his body reacted in pleasure. At first, Jaden stood there, shocked, but within seconds he recovered and began kissing Jesse back. Jesse felt his hands exploring his body, the one that he already knew so well. Jesse moved his hands down Jaden's front, searching for the belt loops of his pants. He found them, finally, and pulled Jaden in, closer. Jaden slid his hands up Jesse's shirt, placing his hands over Jesse's hard layers of muscle. Jesse gasped, as if not expecting this, and pressed himself closer to Jaden, parting his lips expertly and exploring his mouth with his tongue. Jaden flipped his hands around, so his palms were on the inside of Jesse's shirt, avoiding being crushed as the two boys brought themselves closer together.

Jesse guided them over towards the bed and sat down on it, with Jaden on top of him, still kissing. He ran his hand through Jaden's soft, brown hair, ruffling it affectionately. Jaden broke apart and Jesse opened his eyes to see Jaden's amber eyes staring back at his own. There was blood in his cheeks and his forehead, telltale signs that he was just as excited as Jesse, maybe even more so. Jaden brought his thumb out of the bottom of Jesse's shirt and lifted it, exposing Jesse's torso and abdomen. Jesse maintained eye contact but lay still, too excited, too anxious to think about the next step. Jaden lifted his back and pushed the shirt up, exposing Jesse's chest.

Jesse found Jaden's belt loops again and pulled him onto the bed, gently tossing him to the side so that he landed on his back. Within seconds Jesse was on top of him, his shirt having fallen back down, stripping off his jacket. Jaden kicked off his shoes, and they landed across the room with a thud. Jesse maneuvered himself so that they were two parallel lines, on top of each other. He kissed Jaden again, his heart racing, blood pumping through his veins. He could feel his pulse in his fingertips as they traced their way down Jaden's torso, searching for the bottom of his shirt. He felt Jaden's hands on his own jacket, and he struggled to take it off. Their kiss having broken, Jaden looked at Jesse's green eyes. The look said it all, and Jesse kneeled between Jaden's legs. Jaden sat up, took hold of the corners of Jesse's shift, and lifted the material over his head and tossed it on the floor. There was no time to speak before Jesse was on top of Jaden again, pressing his back against the mattress, his lips pressed against Jaden's mouth. He felt Jaden's tongue touch his own, and once again, felt the familiar, shocking, powerful, enticing, result of their osculation. A gasp of pleasure escaped Jesse's throat, and he lay still, paralyzed by the firing of nerve signals. A second later he found himself, and began rubbing Jaden's sides, grabbing the material, searching for the end of the cloth.

Jaden moaned, and Jesse began lifting the only remaining barrier between their skin, revealing Jaden's stomach. Whereas Jesse was mostly hard muscle, Jaden's built was leaner, lighter, but far from skinniness. Jesse rolled over to Jaden's side and traced his fingers along the ridges in Jaden's stomach, playing with his belly button. Jaden rolled over and threw his arm around Jesse, now on top of him, their skin touching. Jesse loved the feeling – smooth skin upon smooth skin. Jaden's body was always warm, although it was hot now, fueled by the passion of their play and by the blood that so diligently pumped through his veins. Jesse felt his own face heat up as Jaden's fingers found their way to the top of his pants. He slid his fingers in, tugging at the area between fabrics, exciting Jesse. Finally, his fingers found their way towards the center of his pants, and he fumbled with the button, trying to open it single-handedly. Jesse watched him and laughed, his stomach tightening, making the ridges of his muscles stand out more predominantly than before as they contracted.

"Let me," he said, taking Jaden's hand and placing it on the inside of his thigh. It was a highly sensitive area, and Jesse jolted before steadying himself, consciously aware of Jaden's wide eyes scanning him, worshipping his body. His own hands were shaking as he undid the top button, and he dropped himself down on the bed as Jaden threw down the zipper, revealing the last layer of fabric barring Jesse's skin. Jaden began working at his own pants button as Jesse kicked off his shoes, wishing the moment would be over with, wishing the blood would somehow speed up the moment, pushing towards the next ones that he so desired. Jaden threw down his zipper and stepped out of his pants, quickly, socks still on. Jesse lifted his head and he watched, anxiously, lustfully, as Jaden moved his hand towards the fabric of his underwear and kissed him once more.

"I think," said Jesse as Jaden's mouth trailed down his torso, giving butterfly kisses to those sensitive areas, constantly avoiding the area Jesse desperately wanted touched, teasing him endlessly, "That I won enough times today, so you can pay the price."

Jaden grinned.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, after stopping by the card sanctuary to talk and swap cards, Jesse and Jaden made their ways outside to meet Blake and Geri on the duel arena for Jesse's final test duel. The sun was shining more brightly now, and there was a slight breeze coming off the ocean. Jesse noticed that Blake and Geri were dressed differently. Whereas earlier Blake had been in a grey shirt and dark pants, he was now just wearing a black vest and black pants, with dark bands going up his arm and his brown, polished necklace hanging by a black cord around his chest. A smaller, grey necklace with a green stone hung near his throat, and he wore black shades.<p>

Geri was no longer in her long shirt and grey jeans. Instead, she wore a sea green and white button-down shirt – almost plaid, but Jesse could tell the material was thinner – over a white shirt. She was wearing blue jeans and black boots that matched her hair. Like Blake, she wore a small, grey necklace near her throat, except instead of a washed out green like his, it was dark, almost black. She too wore shades, fiery orange ones that contrasted against the green of her shirt.

"So we're here!" Blake called out, spreading his arms wide. Jesse couldn't help but look at his arms. Bronze, tans, corded with muscle. He doubted that Blake had any fat on him at all, judging from his cut figure. Jaden was cute, but Blake was, well, Blake was hot, decked out in all black.

Geri laughed and brought her hand to her mouth, and Jesse noticed that she had painted her fingernails red, the same color as the lipstick she used. It made all of her skin looker whiter, but no less thrummed with vibrant color. Besides Blake, who was nowhere near black, but instead a dark golden tan, her naturally dark skin looked to be about the same shade. Jesse suspected that while Geri was probably Asian or Brazilian, Blake was most likely Italian. Being near them, as well as next to Jaden, who's complexion was darker than his, suddenly made Jesse feel like a cotton ball.

"You betcha!" Jaden called in response. "You guys ready to get your game on?"

Geri laughed again. "Keep it in your pants, kid!" she called out.

Jesse blinked, rapidly. He looked at Jaden, who was looking at him, confused. "Did she just say…" he began.

"Yes," was Jesse's curt answer, cutting him off. "Yes she did."

"Never mind her," Blake said. "It's time to get this duel started. I'll explain the rules." He engaged his Duel Disc into dueling mode. Like the rest of his outfit, it was totally black. To Jesse, he looked like some kind of spy.

Geri followed suit, and so did Jaden. Jesse was the last to throw out his hologram projectors, but Blake continued without missing a beat. "This is a tag team, 2-on-2 duel," he announced. "Geri and I will be teamed up against Jesse and Jaden. There are no boundaries between team members, except for paying costs. Team members may not confer or share strategies." He took his deck out of its slot. "In order to determine which team goes first, each player will select one monster. The team with the monster with the most attack points will be awarded the first turn, but none of these monsters will be able to be used in the duel."

_"What?"_ Jesse thought. _"So that means I have to choose a monster to eliminate from my deck?"_ He took his deck from its slot in the Duel Disk and opened it, scanning the cards. _"Hmm, that one should do," _he thought, selecting the monster.

"Now, duelists, reveal your monsters!" Blake said, holding out a Nova Summoner monster card.

Geri revealed Dark Horus.

Jaden held out Dark Catapaulter.

Jesse revealed his card – Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle.

"So it's decided!" Blake announced. "Geri will move first, and then Jaden, and then I, and finally Jesse. Let us draw, and begin!"

Jesse picked up five cards from the top of his deck.

"Card Destruction!" Geri announced. "Now we discard all the cards in our hands and draw the same number of cards that we discarded!"

Jaden looked slightly miffed, but Jesse was happy. "Thanks!" he said. "You forced me to discard my Electric Snake, allowing me to draw two cards!" He picked up the top five cards of his deck, and then drew another two.

"Lucky opening hand," Geri grimaced. "But I had luck too! Because I discarded my The Fabled Cerburrel, it is automatically summoned to my side of the field!"

The two headed, red, catlike beast appeared on her side in Defense Position.

"And now," Geri cried, holding out a card, "I will play Monster Reincarnation! So by discarding my Fabled Kushiana to the graveyard, I can return one monster from my graveyard to my hand!"

She did so, scanning her hand. "Then, I'll place these two cards facedown and activate my Nightmare's Steel Cage! Now no attacks can be wagered until the end of the second round."

As Geri spoke, four steel cages, spiked on the outside, appeared on all four player's fields. "Your turn, Jaden," she said. "It's not like you can do much."

"Don't mind if I do!" he said, whipping the top card off his deck. "I think I'll special summon my Elemental Hero Bubbleman to the field, and since he's the only card on my field, I can draw two more cards!"

"Hold on!" Geri cried. "You just activated my Greed Trap Card! Now, at the end phase, we take 500 points of damage for every card drawn outside of the Draw Phase." She grinned. "So you're looking pretty bleak already."

Jaden grimaced – this already wasn't good. "No matter," he said. "I play Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, in Defense Mode!"

The large beaked red monster appeared on the field, kneeling, its arms crossed over its chest and head lowered. "Now I activate his effect! Honey Suckle, and I choose to target Jesse!"

Air Hummingbird flew towards Jesse, and for each of Jesse's seven cards, a flower appeared. Jaden's Life Points show from 4000 to 7500.

"That ends my turn," he declared, placing one card facedown.

Geri smirked. "Then prepared to feel the burn! Greed, activate!"

Jaden screamed, and knelt down on one knee. His Life Points dropped from 7500 to 6500. _"Nothing doing,"_ Jesse thought. _"6500 Life Points is still a lot, and that's only saying if they don't take care of Hummingbird."_

Blake drew. "I activate the Magic Card Fissure! This destroys the monster on your side of the field with the lowest attack!"

The ground opened up, and a human hand reached out, pulling Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird under. "Hummingbird!" Jaden shouted, but to no avail. He was defenseless, save for Bubbleman.

"Now, I'll place one monster card facedown and two cards in my backrow." He made the movement, and looked up at Jesse. "Your turn," he said.

Jesse nodded, and drew. He looked at his hand. Thunder Dragon. Wattcine. Shift. Watthopper. Damage Eater. Wattcannon. Makiu, the Magical Mist. Wattcastle. "I'll summon Watthopper in Defense Mode!" he announced. "Next, I'll discard the Thunder Dragon in my hand and add two more Thunder Dragons from my deck to my hand!"

Jesse discarded, and was met by another "Ah-hah!" from Geri. "You've activated my Trap!" she announced. "It's called Magical Thorn. Every time one of my opponents discards a card, they immediately take 500 points of damage!"

Jesse let out a small scream as his score dropped from 4000 to 3500.

"That's fine," he said, "because now I can take the two Thunder Dragon cards from my deck and add them to my hand!" Two cards slid out from his deck, and Jesse took them, placing them in his hand. "Next, I'll set four cards and end my turn!"

He was left with four cards in his hand – Damage Eater, Wattcastle, Thunder Dragon, and Thunder Dragon.

Geri smiled and drew her card. "Very good!" she announced, "but sadly, not good enough. I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge from you, Jesse, because so far you're not amounting to much."

What was that supposed to mean?

"So now," she said, "I'll place two more cards facedown." Then I'll place a monster card facedown." She grinned wicked. "And now it's over. I activate my Book of Taiyou spell card!"

She flipped one of the face-down cards face-up. "Book of Taiyou allows me to flip any monster on the field from face-down Defense Position to face-up Attack Position! So I flip my Morphing Jar!"

"Uh-oh," Jaden said.

"Morphing Jar forces all of us to discard every card in our hands, and then draw five cards!" Blake said. "Due to the effect of Magic Thorn, you two will lose 500 Life Points for every card you discard! Then the Greed Trap Card will inflict 500 points of damage to you at the End Phase for every card drawn! Of course," he let on, "I'm affected too, but I have ways around that. Go Solemn Wishes!"

He raised the Trap Card. "It's really simply. For every card I draw, I gain 500 Life Points! So the damage is cancelled out!"

"I activate my Rainbow Life Trap Card!" Jaden announced. "By discarding one card, all damage I until the end of this turn increases my Life Points instead!"

Jaden discarded his four remaining cards, raising his score to 8500. Then he drew five more. "Since one of the cards I discarded was my Dandylion, I get two fluff tokens!"

Two things that can only be described was weeds with big eyes and smiles appeared on Jaden's side of the field.

Jesse threw out his four cards, dropping his score to 1500, and picked up five more.

"That should have ended you!" she said in frustration. "No matter, at least Jesse will be gone. In the meantime, I'll play Monster Reborn to summon Cyber Kiren! Then I'll sacrifice him to avoid the burn damage from my Greed card.

"I end my turn, Jesse. Time's up."

"Not so fast!" he announced. "I remove the Damage Eater in my Graveyard from play, turned all the damage I would have taken from your Trap into Life Points!" Jesse score rose from 1500 to 4000.

Jaden wiped his forehead. "Whew," he said. "You had me worried for a second there."

Jesse threw him an eye. "What gave you the idea of throwing in Rainbow Life?"

He grinned. "Well, it was you, really. I knew you had the card, and…" he shrugged. "You saved me again, Jesse!" He grinned, and Jesse watched as his score rose from 8500 to 11000.

Jaden drew. "Since your cage is still up, there's not much I can do, so I'll just sacrifice my fluff tokens to summon Elemental Hero Neos!"

Oh yeah, now that's out. Jaden's unstoppable. "Then I'll place one card facedown, and I'll turn it over to you, Blake!"

"11000 Life Points," Blake said. "Not bad, but now it's my turn to get rid of them all!"

He drew. "This is a nifty little Spell Card I like to call Soul Absorption. Now, every time a card is removed from play, I gain 500 Life Points for each card!" Then he flipped his facedown. "This is called Fiend Comedian. I toss a coin and call heads or tails. If I call right, all the cards in your graveyards are removed from play. If I call wrong, I send cards from my deck to my graveyard equal to the number of cards in your graveyards. Capesh?"

"That's a risky move!" Jaden called out. "You could lose your entire deck!"

Blake grinned, but didn't say anything. A green goblin with a large coin walked into the center of the playing field. "Heads!" Blake called.

The goblin flipped the coin into the air. It turned over with amazing speed.

Geri stared, intently.

Jaden looked as if he was chanting under his breath.

Blake closed his eyes, as if accepting the result before he even knew it.

_"But he does know it!" _The thought exploded in Jesse's head. _"Oracle of the Near Future…he already knew the outcome of this card! So whatever it is, he already knows what effect he's going to be playing!"_

The coin landed and spun quickly. None of the four players took their eyes off it.

The rotation dwindled, slowing down, stopping, stopping, until the coin fell over.

Tails.

"Whoohoo!" Jaden cried out. "We did it, Jesse! That's one down!"

Blake took the remainder of his deck and placed it in his graveyard. "Well," he said. "This was my last turn, I suppose. I'll just throw down two facedowns and turn it over to you, Jesse. On my next turn, when I won't be able to draw, I'll lose."

Jesse drew. "No, I see right through your little act."

Wattfox. "You've got something planned, Blake, and I get the feeling I'm not gonna like it. What kind of test would this be if you threw away your chance at victory so quickly?"

He raised an eyebrow behind his shades.

Jesse studied Blake's field. He had only one monster, and it was facedown, so he had no way of knowing what it was. In the meantime, he also had three facedown cards and that spell card face-up. It was a set up…but for what?

He only had 4000 Life Points, so he needed to be careful. That may have been max, but in this duel, any number of Life Points was difficult to trust. He needed a plan.

"I activate my Wattcannon Trap Card!" Jesse announced. "Then I'll summon Wattfox, which inflicts 600 points of damage to Geri's Life Points!"

Her score dropped from 4000 to 3400. She wiped the side of her mouth with her wrist. "That's small damage in this duel," she said.

"But every bit counts!" Jaden yelled.

She considered. "I suppose it does."

"If you don't mind," Jesse said, "but it's still my turn. Next, I'll play my Monster Reborn! Come back, Wattgiraffe!"

The diminutive, cuddly, yellow giraffe appeared on the field. The Wattcannon fired up. "Now, because a Thunder Monster was summoned, you take another 600 points of damage!"  
>Geri's Life Points dropped from 3400 to 2800.<p>

"Now time for a Spell Card! It's called Lightwave Tuning! With it, I can turn Wattgiraffe into a Tuner monster for this turn!"

Geri scoffed. "But you can't do anything with it! My Nightmare's Steel Cage is still in effect, so you can't attack!"

It was Jesse's turn to smirk. "Oh, but you're wrong. I tune Wattgiraffe with Wattfox in order to Synchro Summon Wattchimera! And since another Thunder-type Monster is summoned, you lose another 600 Life Points!"

A curious spectacle unfolded – Wattgiraffe turned onto four stars, and these stars turned into four shining, light-green loops that surrounded Wattfox. The yellow fox then turned into two stars, and a blast a white light appeared through the rings.

Then stood a lion-like creature, in the same cartoonish appearance as the other Watt monsters.

Wattchimera.

The Wattcannon fired again, and Geri's score dropped from 2800 to 2200.

"Are you done yet?" she asked, sounded bored.

"Not a chance!" Jesse yelled. "I play De-Synchro, which changes Wattchimera back into Wattgiraffe and Wattfox!"

Wattchimera turned white, and then separated into Wattgiraffe and Wattfox, both in Defense Position.

The Wattcannon fired twice, dropping Geri's score down to 1000. She looked tired, and Jesse didn't blame her. Five shots from the Wattcannon was a pretty exhausting experience.

Jesse placed one care facedown. "Now I'm done, and so are your cages!"

And so it was. The four cages surrounding the players disappeared as soon as Geri drew her card.

"Round Three!" she said. "So far, you've been hanging on. But how much longer can you last? The good part is just beginning."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaden, who had been surprising silent during Jesse's turn, asked.

"it means," Geri said, "Now I can attack you!"

She lifted her Duel Disk and pointed at her graveyard. "First I activate the effect of my Fabled Kushanio. By discarding one card from my hand, she returns to my hand. I think I'll discard my Fabled Soulkius. Remember him, Jesse?"

Jesse considered. "Uh…no, not really," he replied.

Geri let out another burst of laughter. Until then, she had done a great job of maintaining her cool, but her emotions would not be denied. It reminded Jesse that he was facing people that wanted to help him, not destroy him like so many of the others he had dueled.

"Very well. I now activate Soulkus's effect, allowing me to discard Kushanio and Fabled Lurrie to the graveyard in order to Special Summon him! And because he was discarded to the Graveyard, I can also special summon Fabled Lurrie!"

She plucked a card from her hand. "Next," she said, "I play a Spell Card. It's called Tribute to the Doomed! So, by discarding the Despair From the Dark in my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy your Wattgiraffe!"

"Not you can't!" Jesse called. "I activate my Trap Card – Shift! It changes the target of your card from Wattgiraffe to Wattfox!"

Blake smiled. "Gotcha," he said. "I play my Mystical Refpanel! Now I can change the target from Wattfox to Elemental Hero Neos!"

Jaden's eyed widened. "Well, I can't let that happen, so I activate my Seven Tools of the Bandit! For the price of 1000 Life Points, this destroys and negates your Trap Card!" Jaden's Life Points dropped from 11000 to 10000.

"Nicely done, Jaden!" Jesse called out.

Jaden smiled. "Do I always gotta watch your back?"

Wrappings like the kind used to preserve a mummy came out of the Tribute to the Doomed Spell Card and latched themselves onto Wattfox, pulling tightly. The monster was destroyed in seconds.

"And now," Jesse announced, "since Wattfox was destroyed by the effect of a Spell Card, you turn ends!"

Geri blinked. "Very well," was all she said.

Jaden drew.

"Now I activate a Spell Card known as Wrath of Neos! By returning Elemental Hero Neos to my deck, I can destroy all cards on the field!"

Jesse looked at his partner. "Jaden! Why would you do that?"

The looked on Jaden's face was clear. "So I can finish off Geri!"

Good reason.

Elemental Hero Neos jumped towards Jaden's Duel Disk, and an explosion engulfed the entire playing field.

Jesse's deck was released from its slot.

"Wait," he said, "what just happened?"

He heard Blake laugh. "You were right Jesse, I wasn't done. I had to save myself from being destroyed, so I activated my Exchange of the Spirit Trap Card. It's quite simple. For the price of 1000 Life Points all players must switch their decks with their graveyards."

"So that's why you destroyed your entire deck!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Very perceptive," Blake said as he took his entire deck from his Graveyard and placed it in the Deck Zone. "Now I have a full deck, and you're playing with just a few cards."

Jaden only smiled. "I'll thank you for that later. Now," he announced, "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos, and his effect lets me take one Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck and add it to my hand! So I choose Elemental Hero Neos Ailus!"

He held out another card. "Now, I activate O – Oversoul! This lets me summon Elemental Hero Neos from my Graveyard!"

Elemental Hero Neos appeared on the field.

"Now, Stratos, attack Geri directly! Finish her off!"

Geri dropped the last card she was holding. "Battle Fader will protect me!" she cried.

A monster appeared on the field. It looked like a cross between the Monster Reborn torch and a pendulum one might see on an old grandfather clock. Elemental Hero Stratos's attack bounced right off.

"As a result of Battle Fader's effect, your Battle Phase ends and your current attack is blocked!"

Jaden grimaced. "Okay then," he said. "I'll throw these two cards facedown and end my turn."

Blake drew. "Hmm," he said. "Not a bad pick." Blake now had four cards in his hand. He seemed to be muttering to himself. "Hmm," he said. "Decisions, decisions. Ah, this'll do."

He played a Magic Card. "Remember this Jesse?" he asked. "It's called Painful Choice. It's one of the most powerful Magic Cards in the game of Duel Monsters."

Of course he remembered.

Blake continued, "So I'll pick five cards from my deck and you can send one to my hand. The other four will go towards filling up my graveyard. Ready?"

The Agent of Wisdom – Mercury. The Agent of Creation – Venus. The Agent of Miracles – Jupiter. Celestia, Lightsworn Angel. Necro Gardna.

"I don't understand," Jesse said, "but I choose The Agent of Wisdom!"

Blake added the card to his hand and shrugged. "It really doesn't matter which card you picked. Now, I discard my Zeredias, Herald of Heaven in order to all The Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand!"

An image of an angel appeared briefly, and then Blake was adding a card to his hand. "Next, I'll activate it!" Blake's field card zone popped out, and he placed The Sanctuary in the Sky in it. "Now all Battle Damage to the controller of a Fairy-Type Monster becomes zero."

The field around them changed, and Jesse could see that they were in front of a large, majestic, white temple, somewhere reminiscent of Greek architecture. "Now I activate Graceful Charty! So I draw three cards and discard two!"

Blake looked at his hand, and Jesse could sense his eyes widen behind his shades. "Excellent," he said. "I summon The Agent of Mystery – Earth!"

A small angel appeared on the field.

"Uh, no offense," Jaden began, "But what are you going to do with that?"

"Not much, except activate its effect! When this card is summoned when The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can add one Master Hyperion from my deck to my hand."

"And what is a Master Hyperion?" Jaden asked.

"Why don't I show you?" Blake retorted. "I remove Zeredias from my Graveyard in order to Special Summoner Master Hyperion!"

A figuring much more menacing than the small angel appeared on the field. This one had a fiery mane of hair, and ring similar to those of Saturn enveloped its being.

"Now," Blake said, smiling. "I'll remove The Agent of Wisdom – Mercury and The Agent of Creation – Venus from play in my graveyard in order to destroy Elemental Hero Neos and Elemental Hero Stratos!"

"What?" Jaden cried out. Too late, already, both monsters were engulfed in smoke. "Neos!" he cried.

"Using the effect of my Celestial Transformation spell card," Blake began, "I can special summon one Fairy-type monster from my hand, as long as its destroyed at the end of the turn! So I choose to summon The Agent of Force – Mars!"

A smaller angel appeared on the field, its red skin and wide eyes menacing.

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "But it has 0 attack points!"

"Not for long!" Blake said. "Just one more thing. Since I have two or more Light monsters on my side of the field, I can special summon my Guardian of Order from my hand!"

Blake threw down his second-to-last card, and a Warrior-Type Monster appeared. It's figure was stunning – gleaming pale gold and powerful.

"And now Guardian of Order," Blake said, "Attack Jesse directly!"

"I'll save you Jesse!" Jaden called. "I activate The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! Which, as you may have guessed, summons a Kuriboh! So let's play Winged Kuriboh! Intercept his attack!"

Winged Kuriboh launched itself towards the Guardian of Order. "And now time for my second move!" Jaden cried. "Reveal face-down, Berserker Crush! By removing Elemental Hero Bladedge in my Graveyard from play, Winged Kuriboh gains 2600 Attack Points, enough to crush your Guardian!"

Blake reacted without missing a beat. "I don't think so, because now I play the Quick-Play Spell known as Mischief of the Time Goddess! This card skips the duel over to my next battle phase, cancelling out all the effects of the current one!" He smiled. "In other words, your Kuriboh loses its Attack Points!"

"That may be," Jaden cried, "But Jesse's Life Points are safe!"

Guardian of Order sliced Winged Kuriboh in half with one fell swoop of its sword.

"Fine," Blake said. "I end my turn."

Jesse drew. "Why didn't Mars get destroyed?" he asked.

"I told you," Blake said, "Mischief of the Time Goddess skipped to my next Battle Phase, so the End Phase in which Mars was supposed to be destroyed never occurred. So he stayed."

Jesse wasn't quite sure what to do. Neither he nor Jaden had any monsters on the field, and no matter what they did put on the field, Master Hyperion could simply wipe it right off the field. He had to trust that whatever card he drew, it would be the correct one. He turned.

Wattgiraffe. He looked at his current hand. Pot of Greed, Polymerization.

_"As long as he keeps his field spell in play, his Life Points are safe. I can't let that happen, so I gotta play dirty. Let's just hope I draw the right card." _

"I activate Pot of Greed!" he announced, picking up two cards from the top of his deck.

Thunder Dragon. Wattcastle.

"First," Jesse declared, "It's time for a change in scenery! I activate the field spell card Wattcastle! That means your Sanctuary is gone!"

"What?" Blake gasped. "But that means my Life Points—"

"Are vulnerable!" interjected Jaden. "Good job, Jesse!"

Jesse grinned. "There's more coming your way! Then I activate the effect of my Thunder Dragon! By discarding it from my hand, I can add two more Thunder Dragons from my deck to my hand!"

He placed the card in the Graveyard, and two more cards slid from his deck. Jesse took them and added them to his hand. "Next," he cried, holding out a spell card, "Polymerization! Fuse my Thunder Dragons together to form Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"

Jesse placed the two green, electric lizard-like monsters on the field, and they spun, increasing in speed, faster and faster, until their images molded. The spinning stopped, and a new beast was in their place.

The Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon had 2800 Attack Points.

Finally," Jesse said, holding out the last card in his hand, "I summon my Wattgiraffe!" The yellow monster reappeared on the field. "As you may remember," he stated, "Wattgiraffe has certain privileges, including the ability to attack your directly! So Wattgiraffe, go straight for Blake's Life Points!"

The monster galloped, increasing in speed, sparks flying around its yellow coat. It impaled Blake on the chest, and he flew backwards, although maintaining his balance.

Blake's score dropped from 4000 to 2800.

"I do believe that's the first actual attack of this duel that accomplished anything," Geri remarked drying, as if wishing that her turn would come already.

Jesse glanced in her direction. He could attack her with Thunder Dragon, but then Blake was just send in Hyperion or Order to intercept the attack. No, the only choice was clear.

"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon," he announced, "Attack Mars with your Twin Lightning Assault!"

Each mouth of the beast fired twice, in alternating strikes. Blake's face dropped. "Good try, Jesse," he said, "but I remove my Necro Gardna from the Graveyard in order to negate your attack!"

"I don't think so," Jesse said. "Wattgiraffe has another effect you should know about. When he successfully strikes your Life Points, you can't activate Monster Effects for the rest of the turn! So Necro Gardna won't be guarding anybody!"

The blasts connected. Mars exploded in a bright flash of light, blinding everyone on the field.

"Is it gone?" Jaden asked.

Jesse held his breath and waited for the smoke to subside.

Blake's Life Points dropped from 2800 to 0. The monsters on his side of the field vanished.

"Nicely done Jesse!" he exclaimed. "Now you have to contend with Geri."

"And she's not happy!" Geri said as he drew her card. It was the only thing she had, and she flipped the card around. "Graceful Charity, not a bad pick, right? So I'll draw three cards and discard two of them."

She picked three cards and smirked, then sent two to the graveyard.

"I just sent Fabled Lurrie and The Fabled Cerburrel to the grave," she said, "So now, they are Special Summoned to my side of the field! Not a bad combo, right?"

"Not at all," Jaden remarked, gritting his teeth.

"It gets better," she said. "But for now, I'll place this one card face down and call it a turn." She winked, but the gesture was hidden behind her sunglasses. "Jaden, try again."

"Don't mind if I do!" he said, drawing his only card. "Hah!" he cried. "Fifth Hope! With this card, since I have no other cards on my field, I can return five Elemental Hero monsters from my graveyard to my deck and draw three cards! So I select Elemental Hero Neos, Elemental Hero Wildheart, Elemental Hero Stratos, Elemental Hero Lady Heat, and Elemental Hero Sparkman!

The five cards appeared from Jaden's Graveyard, and she shuffled them back into his deck. Then he drew three cards.

"Sorry Geri, but you're out! I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode!"

The monster appeared on the field in a triumphant pose.

"Then," he said, "I'll equip him with Spark Blaster! Spark Blaster gets three shots, so I'll use two of them to switch both of your monsters to Attack Mode!"

Both The Fabled Cerburrel and Fabled Lurrie were changed to Attack Position.

"Sparkman!" Jaden called, "Attack Fabled Lurrie!"  
>"Mirror Force!" she said. "Now, all monsters in Attack Position on your side of the field are destroyed!"<p>

Sparkman's attack met his reflection, and both Wattgiraffe and Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon were destroyed as well.

"Hey!" Jesse cried. "Why were my monsters destroyed too?"

"Don't you remember what I said?" Blake answered. "There are no boundaries between partners. You and Jaden share the same field."

Oh.

Jaden set a card and ended his turn.

"My draw!" Jesse announced. _"I just need a strong monster, and I can win this!"_

Wattsquirrel.

"Workable," Jesse said. "I summon Wattsquirrel, and he'll attack your Fabled Lurrie! So you lose 500 Life Points!"

Watsquirrel dashed forward and swiped a claw against Fabled Lurrie. Geri's score dropped from 1000 to 500.

"That will end my turn!" Jesse declared.

This duel was getting rather tough. Due to Jaden's Wrath of Neos, there was no clear field advantage. They were each relying on their next draw. One bad card and it was all over.

Jaden was clearly winning, with 10000 Life Points to his name. Jesse was in second, with 4000. Geri only had a simple 500.

She drew. "I'll place another card facedown," she said. "Then, I'll have Cerburrel attack you directly, Jaden!"

His points fell from 10000 to 9000.

"Your turn, Jaden."

He drew. "Not attacking me was a big mistake! I reveal my facedown – Convert Contact! Now, by sending Neo-Spacian Glow Moss from my hand and Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird from my deck to the graveyard, I can draw two more cards!"

He drew. "I summon Elemental Hero Neos Ailus! His effect makes gives him the name of Elemental Hero Neos!"

The white, humanoid monster appeared on the first. Jaden waved a card between his second and third fingers. "First one is Cocoon Party! So now, for every Neo-Spacian in my graveyard, I get to summon one Chrysalis! And I have all six Neo-Spacians in my grave, thanks to Blake's Trap Card, so I'll summon Chrysalis Mole, Chrysalis Chicky, Chrysalis Larve, and Chrysalis Dolphin!"

The four monsters appeared on Jaden's field.

"They're adorable," Geri remarked with the tone of someone commenting on one's taste of furniture, "But what do they do?"

"Grow up!" was Jaden's answer. "I play Cocoon Revival, which lets me replace each Chrysalis Monster with a Neo-Spacian from my Graveyard! So I summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab, and Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!

"Now, Triple Contact Fusion! I fuse Elemental Hero Neos Ailus with Neo-Spacians Grand Mole and Flare Scarab to form Elemental Hero Magma Neos!"

The three monsters jumped into the air and met headlong in a collision, and a bright light shone.

"Elemental Hero Magma Neos gains 400 attack points for every card on our fields and in our hands! Nobody has a hand, but I have three cards on the field, Jesse has two, and you have three! That makes a grand total of, um—"

"Don't hurt yourself," Geri remarked, smiling.

"3200," Blake said.

Geri smirked again. "You actually think I'd let you do this? I saw this coming."

She probably did, Jesse thought.

"Which is why I was prepared! Go, first facedown card! Ring of Destruction! Destroy Elemental Hero Magma Neos!"

The ring flew out of the card and attached itself to Elemental Hero Magma Neos's neck. It glowed red for a second before detonating, engulfing the space previously occupied by Elemental Hero Magma Neos with smoke.

"Ring of Destruction has a second effect – we each lose Life Points equal to the attack of the destroyed monster. I don't know about either of you, but I don't feel like going anywhere, so I'm activating my Reflect Shield Trap Card!"

"I've never heard of that before!" Jesse exclaimed. "What does it do?"

She smiled. "It takes all the damage I would have taken and reflects it back to anyone I choose at twice the power! So I'll go for you, Jesse!"

"No!" Jaden cried. "I won't let you! From my graveyard, I activate Winged Shield!"

The card was released from his grave. Jaden explained as he took it and whirled it in his fingers, "I can activate this card from the grave when Winged Kuriboh is also in the grave. With Winged Shield, I can protect any player on the field from damage, and I then take that damage instead!"

Jesse turned on him. "Jaden!" He cried. "You can't lose for me!"

But Jaden only smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "Sorry man," he said, "But if you lose, then you have to start all over, and all your work would have been for nothing, and I can't let that happen, so I've gotta take the hit!"

As he spoke, he placed the card in his duel disk. It was beautiful, Jesse marveled – the green magic card sporting two players, with a Winged Kuriboh in front of one of them, and a bright, intense light in the background amidst a field of light green. A shield appeared around Jesse just before the wave of damage from Ring of Destruction reached him, and reflected it all towards Jaden, along with his own blast.

Jaden's score dropped from 9000 to 5800, and then again from 5800 to 0.

Geri's score remained at 500.

Jesse's score dropped from 4000 to 800.

"Don't worry about me," he said, his field going blank. "You'll win Jesse. I know you will."

"We're nearing the end, Jesse," Geri said. "Think you can still win?"

He drew. "I know I can, Geri, I just have to draw the right card."

She gave a real smile. "You just did."

He looked. Wattkey.

"So I did! Now, I activate the Spell Card Wattkey! This lets all of my Watt monsters attack you directly!"

Wattsquirrel got the message. It leaped past The Fabled Cerburrel and went straight for Geri.

"Not so fast!" Blake called out. "Remember Necro Gardna? I activate it to save Geri!"

The card was released from his graveyard, and Wattsquirrel's attack bounced back.

Lucky for me," Jesse said, "Wattsquirrel can attack twice! So let's try this again!"

The squirrel dashed around Geri's monster and scratched her on the face. She didn't flinch as her score dropped from 500 to 0.

Jesse won.

"Whew!" he said, releasing his breath. He didn't realize he'd been holding it, hoping that that attack would go through, hoping that nothing would happen.

"I'm not sure what's more impressive," Blake said. "The fact that Geri lost to a squirrel, or the fact that Jaden lost 9000 Life Points in one move."

"Shut up!" she said, laughing.

They all laughed. After the high tension of the duel, it was a welcome release of emotion.

Jesse looked at Blake. "So," he said. "Did I pass?"

"With flying colors," the older boy replied.

Jesse closed his eyes and breathed an immense sigh of relief. "So when are we going to go after my Crystal Beast cards?"

"Tomorrow," Blake said. "As soon as you two rest. We've got a long day ahead of us. Whoever stole those cards knew what they were doing, so it's our job not only to track them, but to defeat them as well. Then we have to stop whatever forces they set in motion."

Jesse nodded. Now that the duel was over, he couldn't resist looking at Blake. The clothes. The skin. The muscle. The chest that was partially exposed by his vest. Blake stood a good three inches taller than Jesse, who was 5'8". He had a powerful, strong presence.

Jesse quickly looked away.

"So why can't you just use whatever powers you guys have and find them?" Jaden asked. "I mean, you found us, right? Why can't you do the same with the Crystal Beast cards?"

"We tried," Geri interjected. "But the signal of the other six and the Rainbow Dragon was being blocked. We recovered Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle before the others, but since then, they've probably redoubled their efforts to keep the cards hidden."

Blake nodded. "Sari and Alec and trying to locate them right now, but haven't had much success. We should go talk with them to see if the found anything else while we were dueling."

He and Geri started walking towards the house, and Jaden looked at Jesse. "Hey, let's go!" he said, cheerfully.

Jesse dumbly nodded – he didn't say anything. Now that he knew he was prepared, he only had one thought. Recover his cards.

He took Ruby Carbuncle out of his pocket. "I'mma find the others, Ruby," he whispered. "Don't worry. I'll find them."

The card looked back, its eyes as open as they always were, kind, round spheres of encouragement and hope.

I promise.

* * *

><p>Touching, right? I mean how devoted Jesse and Jaden are to each other. Remember what I said in my notes before the story started, that Jaden <em>shows<em> things, but doesn't actually say them? The fact that he took the hit in order to save Jesse says a lot. Jesse's tender moment with his card at the end also says a lot, I think.  
>If you don't actually know what the verb "to osculate" means, I suggest you look it up. Right now. And you can also look up "hebdomadal", because that's a pretty awesome word with a pretty humdrum meaning.<br>There isn't much action _or_ romance in the next chapter, but it's really essential to the plot, I think. It leaves us with more questions than answers, and I think we get an good insight on the relationship between Jesse and Jaden. Of course, because they're _talking_ about their relationship doesn't mean there's going to be any actual _romance_. I don't think its in these characters to be terribly romantic with each other, but you can be the judge of that yourself. Next chapter is going to have lots of literacy devices and whatnot, so you should look for those.  
>As for the kiss scene, you liked it, didn't you? I ended it there, because this has to stay T. Sorry guys.<p>

And, if it pleases you, please review and share! I'd love to see what you have to say, because for me, that's when the story really becomes alive. For me, of course, the story is already done and over with - I know what's going to happen and how it's going to happen and whatnot. But I don't find myself exciting, because I'm me. What really makes me love writing is the reception I get from readers, so please, share!


	4. Adumbrations

Once again guys, thanks for reading! Especially if you just picked it up and read this far. I'm sorry, these chapters end up being so longer than I intend. This is a short one, and I promise, the next one is pretty short too. Well, _short_, as upwards of 5,500 words is no cakewalk, but you get the idea. Short for what I've been writing! Haha. There's not as much action here - only mystery and some drama/romance at the end. Of course, if you want, you can puzzle over this chapter until your heart gives out...just don't sue me. 'xD

Still unbeta'd, so all mistakes still belong exclusively to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>  
><strong>Adumbrations<strong>

"We have reports that the thieves are going to enter the Rim Cheep Tournament," Alec said. They were in the library, a large, grand room with shelves of books farther than the eye could see and rows of computers. In the middle stood large desks for studying and work and "generally laying thing upon," Sari had said. It was light in the room, for the top was glass and the sun shone through, which was curious, Jesse thought, especially since they were underground. He decided not to question it – magic could not be easily explained, he supposed.

"Rim Cheep Tournament?" Jaden scoffed. "What kind of name is that?"

Alec shot him a withering look. "Rim Cheep is an organization," he said, "A world-wide organization that provides monetary aid to third-world countries."

"Like the IMF." Jesse added helpfully.

"Not exactly," Alec said. "While the IMF subsidizes governments, it has no control over where the money goes. Rim Cheep takes a foothold in the country's economy and does what it can to increase the country's GDP. They also employ many people who would otherwise be without jobs."

"So why would they be hosting a Duel Monsters Tournament?" Jesse asked.

"That's our question," Alec replied. "Sari and I think it's to help raise funds – you host a tournament, and then TV networks pay you to provide coverage, and people start to buy tickets to watch the duels." He shrugged. "It's an easy way to make a lot of money."

"Then why would these thieves be interested in this tournament?" Jesse asked. "I mean, what's in it for them?"

"That's the question," Alec said. "The rules of this tournament are like Battle City – you have to forfeit your rarest card to the winner. We think they may be collecting rare cards, something like the Rare Hunters did."

"But less dangerous," Jaden added.

"I'm not so sure about that," Alec said. "Either way, this Tournament is going to be a hotspot. All six of us need to enter and make our ways to the Finals."

"Should be easy, right guys?" Jaden grinned.

"Maybe," Alec said. "The tournament is structured on a point basis. That means for every duel, you win or lose points depending on how well you did, how evenly matched you were, and a variety of other factors. The first sixteen contestants to be awarded twenty-four points go onto the Final Rounds. From there, it's a simple Single Elimination until the winner is crowned."

"So there's a chance we might run into each other in the Finals," Sari added warily. "We'll also be getting a lot of publicity. You two are pretty well known already, but we four are newcomers to the tournament scene."

"Yeah," Jaden said, "But you guys kick butt! I mean, I've watched you all duel."

"All the more reason," Blake said.

Jaden blinked.

Alec sighed. "If we make a big splash without any tournament history, the news will be all over us. If the media knows too much, we risk exposure. If that happens—"

"—then we won't be able to win back my cards," Jesse finished, sudden realization dawning upon him.

Jaden, however, still looked perplexed. "Um, why?"  
>Jesse looked Jaden in the eyes, unable to hold back a smile. Sometimes Jaden was just so clueless, he thought. It was adorable. "Because," Jesse explained, "if they know we're on to them, they won't play with the Crystal Beast cards, and if that happens, then we'll never be able to recover them!"<p>

Jaden looked down into his lap, but "oh," was all he said.

Jesse looked at Blake. "So how are you guys going to manage that?" he asked.

Blake smiled. "Jesse," he said, "Where's the best place to hide a person?"

Jaden looked up. "Somewhere dark?"

Alec bit his lip and quickly turned away.

"No," Blake said, with infinite patience. "In a crowd." He changed his orientation to look directly at Jesse, who was looking at Jaden. "We'll have to blend in with everybody else," Blake continued. "That said, it won't be difficult. Rim Cheep is a very well-known organization – they draw a large crowd. It won't be difficult for each of us to be a young duelist, someone wanted a new life. Jesse," Blake said, "Did you ever read _Lady Audley's Secret?_" He paused for a second, not letting Jesse answer. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't have, but I'll ask you anyway: what do people do when they want to change their lives?"

Jesse didn't take his eyes off Jaden. "They change their names," he said, softly. "That's all you're going to do?" he asked, now looking directly at Blake. "Enter under a false name? You think that will fool them?"

Blake looked grim. "No," he said. "That is not all we will do, although I'm afraid I cannot reveal any more details to you at this time." With that, he turned and walked away, calmly exiting the room.

Jesse blinked. _"Hunh?"_ he thought. _"That was strange."_

Alec looked at Jaden, hesitated briefly, and left, leaving Sari, who had been usually quiet through the latter part of this exchange, in the room alone with the two boys. She went over and sat down across from Jaden.

"Sorry about Blake," she said, her red hair falling about her shoulders like ashes raining from the sky. "He's got a lot on his mind. We have," she paused, mulling over her choice of words, "a _difficult_ task bequeathed to us. There are certain restrictions to what we can and cannot tell."

Jesse looked at her, hard. "Cannot tell," he began, "or will not tell?"

Sari felt his eyes burning holes through her, which was remarkable for someone who gave off the very image of heavenly fire. "I'm afraid," she stated, speaking methodically, "that I'm going to decline to answer that for the moment, Jesse Anderson."

He sighed. "Is there anything else that you can tell me?" he asked.

She nodded. "Only this. As the Oracle of the Past, I do not share the more immediate abilities of my brothers. My powers are limited and they are limitless." A sigh. "We are not magicians, Jesse. We are humans, or as much like humans as possible. I ask that you not judge us too harshly."

Jesse said nothing in reply. He looked over at Jaden, who was being unusually quiet and still looking down into his lap.

_"Maybe he's speaking with Yubel,"_ Jesse thought, and wondered, not for the first time, how nice it must be to be able to always have somebody else to speak privately with, without concern for worldly inconveniences such as privacy.

Noticing she had elicited no response, Sari stood up. "I have a message from Geri," she said. "She said she'll be gone for a few days and she'll meet us at the tournament. She told me to give this to you."

"To me?" Jesse asked, pointing to himself.

Sari considered. "No, to the both of you." And with that, she handed him an envelope. It was plain, white, like a business envelope, except for that which sealed it – a large, steel blue seal in the shape of a shield, almost like a coat of arms, except this was empty. Jesse waited for Sari to leave, sat down next to Jaden, and opened the envelope.

Out fell two pieces of paper, slightly yellowed, folded. One was addressed to MR. YUKI, the other to MR. ANDERSON, in Geri's florid script.

Jaden, having been stirred by Jesse sitting next to him, looked at the paper. "She sent a letter?" he asked. "Didn't we just see her, like, ten minutes ago? Why didn't she just tell us?"

_"Because it was something too important for that,"_ Jesse thought. _"My question is when she got the time."_

Jesse's letter started out like thus:

Mr. Anderson –

There are many truths which I cannot yet reveal to you or Mr. Yuki at the present, but I can assure you that all will be revealed in time – or all that you need to know will be revealed in time, anyway, for I hope you can respect the fact that some of our secrets need to stay our secrets, for the release of this knowledge could be absolutely disastrous to us and all that we do. With that in mind, I would like for the information in this letter to be kept from all others besides Jaden and Yubel – yes, I know the guardian of the Supreme King and the Supreme King are now one spirit, for their secret is not as secret as they think, hence the reason we're in this mess in the first place – and I trust you to guard it. However, in the unfortunate event that this letter is stolen or falls into the wrong hands by other methods, none of the information contained therein will be terribly tragic. Our lives will simply be that much more difficult, although I privately suspect that whoever would be interested in this letter is already fully aware of all the information it contains regardless. That said, I wish you to keep and preserve this.

You may be wondering why you were chosen by the Crystal Beast cards. We know of your history, for this battle was predicted long ago. You were a normal child with an aptitude for dueling, and when you reached your early teenage years you began to make a name for yourself as a child prodigy. However, upon closer examination many concluded that you were nothing of the sort. Mr. Pegasus was not one of those people.

I must discuss some of Mr. Pegasus's character in this letter. As you know, Mr. Pegasus is the founder of Duel Monsters. He went to Egypt and discovered it in the tombs of the pharaohs that used to play this ancient game. Surely Jaden or someone told you the legend of the missing students at Duel Academy, correct? While the subject upon which I write has little to do with that tragedy – although I wish I could be of more assistance to those poor students, for we know of their fate but cannot share it with another soul – I must impress upon you the importance of the knowledge of these events. With that in mind, you must learn as much about these missing students as possible – not so much about the students themselves, but about how they went missing. I believe you have the ability to easily procure those answers, but let us resume our talk of Mr. Pegasus.

Anyway, what you probably do not know about Mr. Pegasus is that he was given a certain item called the Millennium Eye – by whom, I cannot tell you, for that is not my secret to tell – and with the magic of this mystical object, he began to obtain certain, how shall I word this, _abilities._ Mr. Pegasus was destined to receive that Eye and create Duel Monsters.

You may have wondered where the spirits within your cards actually come from, and how Mr. Pegasus managed to capture these spirits and reproduce them, and how he even knew anything about them, really. It came from the power of the Millennium Eye. Do not waste your time wondering about the location of the item at the present moment, for we know exactly where it is, and I assure you, it could not be in a safer location.

My discussion of Mr. Pegasus need continue. He heard of the legend of the Crystal Beasts, the legend of which you yourself know very well, and decided to base a series of cards upon this myth. You then know how he offered these cards as a prize during a regional tournament which you entered and pulled off your most memorable victory – don't ask how I know all the details – and then how the cards chose you. I do not think you ever gave your reason for winning that day any serious thought, especially considering how it happened, and the statistical disadvantage you have been given. Even I was astonished by the outcome. But I knew that the spirits of the Crystal Beasts had chosen you to be their guardian.

Think back to that legend. Julius Caesar, the Roman Emperor, had collected some of the finest stones from around the world and was shipping them into Rome. However, in the Mediterranean, the ship wandered into a storm and sank to the bottom, and thus the stones were lost forever. However, in recent times, after you received the cards, several ocean-floor explorations have been made in an attempt to recover these jewels, and none have had even the slightest success.

Think of the jewels – Ruby, Amber, Topaz, Emerald, Cobalt, Sapphire, and Amethyst. None of them are extremely uncommon or precious. There is no diamond Crystal Beast. None of them are of precious metals, and several gemstones have been left out – onyx, aquamarine, quartz, peridot – some of which are more precious than the ones included. So ask yourself, what purpose would the Emperor of Rome have to go through such trouble?

Then there's the question of the Rainbow Dragon – where exactly does it fit into the story? There's more to the legend than you know, Mr. Anderson, and I am pressing upon you to discover as much as you possibly can.

As of now in this letter, I have given you two main tasks. The first being to learn about why and how the students of the Abandoned Dorm disappeared. The second being to learn as much as possible about the legend surrounding your cards. There is but a third task I must give you.

From the time of receiving this letter, you have exactly two days to complete this research. I will not be here to guide you throughout this, and with that in mind, I want you to look to Sari, for she will be able to provide to you the bulk of your information.

My third task involves the object which Blake has placed in your possession. I caution you through the use of common sense to not advertise what this is. It must be kept absolutely secret for as long as possible, or you will become an already bigger target than before.

As you may already know, in order for the power of the Crystal Beast cards to be fully realized, all seven of them, plus the Rainbow Dragon, need be in the possession of one who either was chosen by the beasts or has triumphed against the beasts during a ceremonial match. As they were stolen, their powers, while still great, have greatly dissipated, and they will refuse to serve their new master for as long as their spirit exists.

Use what you already know about powerful objects – they act like magnets towards each other. Where there is one object of power, there will be another nearby, for fate blows them together. Think of each Crystal Beast card as a molecule with bonds to two others, so that they form a circle. When these bonds are broken, not only is energy released, and this energy can be used for devious and nefarious purposes, but the entire formula changes. In other words, none of the old rules apply.

I think that, upon the careful reading of this letter and Jaden's letter, as well as upon inspection of what I have placed in this envelope, you will be able to better understand my words.

I shall see you in two days, but I shall not inquire about your progress, for spies are everywhere. I'm afraid that as long as you are under our roof, you are safe, but the moment you step outside, everything becomes a risk. For this reason, I'd like you to exercise extreme caution.

And thus, I leave you with my three requests; the first being which I ask you to discover as much as you can about the mystery of the abandoned dorm; the second being which I ask you to discover as much as you can about the mystery surrounding the Crystal Beast cards; and the third being which I ask you to exercise extreme caution with that which Blake has placed into your possession, for it is our only lifeline, and I fear we will have a very difficult time swimming in the tumultuous waters without it.

My last request of you now is that you read Jaden's letter, for all the information I've included in it pertains to you as well. Likewise, it would be in your best interests to give this letter to Jaden.

Geri

Jesse looked up from his letter and regarded the envelope. He opened it, but there was nothing else there. Maybe Geri forgot to include whatever she had alluded to – from the brief time he had known her, it did seem like the kind of thing she would do. Jesse sighed and looked over at Jaden, who had just finished his letter. He handed it to Jesse.

"Here," he said. "She thinks you should read this."

Jesse responded by giving Jaden his letter. "I was told the same thing. Take this one, too."

They swapped letters.

Jaden's letter read as follows:

Mr. Yuki –

It is with absolute necessity I write to you and your friends. Please bear with me as I recount the events that have transpired recently, for I believe this will aid you in your attempts to understand the connections I have made.

But first, as preface, I must implore upon you the vast importance of keeping this note from falling into the wrong hands. The information it contains is, while not absolutely disastrous, of paramount importance and therefore secrecy must be exercised. You may be wondering while I am actually writing this in the letter, and that is because whoever would go to the lengths to purloin this article already knows the true value of the information it contains, and therefore my impressing upon you the importance of this letter is of little consequence.

As you know, Jesse was possessed by Yubel and transported to another dimension. Yubel used Jesse's body as the means to bring you into her reach, and from there, she stole the Super Polymerization card with a combination of Last Trick and Thousand Buster. She planned to use the Super Polymerization card to unite the twelve dimensions; however, you stopped her by uniting yourself and her spirit into your body. As you may have ascertained, when one of the participants in a duel suddenly vanishes into the body of the other participant, the duel ends. However, while that duel may have ended, it was because the inability of one of its participants to play. Should both those participants be engaged in a duel again…I needn't tell you of the possible results.

Thankfully, that is, current conditions remaining, not going to happen. However, I felt it wise to warn you, and I desire that you have, at minimum, a basic understand of what I am about to share, for it contains many things of a complexity – not to say far beyond your comprehension, for I privately suspect you to be bright enough to comprehend a great many things – but of a complexity unparalleled by the previous ciphers of your adventures, however great they may have been.

As you know, by uniting yourself with Yubel, your duel itself was over. However, because it was not ended on convention – thought Life Point loss, a deck out, or a win condition - the game itself is continued. I believe that you are already aware of this fact.

What I do not believe you are aware of – Yubel, I now speak directly to you, so begin to pay attention – is that because the game itself is continued, other players will attempt to gain entry to fill the vacant space. By uniting your souls, you have upset the balance of that game. Yubel, you yourself know the stakes of that game, and I would prefer if you yourself explain them directly to Jaden and Jesse as a preface to that first task which I have impressed upon Jesse, for I believe it will help them fully grasp the gravity of the situation we find ourselves in. Whether you comply or not will be clear to me in two days' time.

Should Jaden enter in a duel such as that previous one, you must assume that all of the previous rules will apply. I, in my present state of being, am not worried, for I have seen Jaden duel under pressure myself and I am confident in his abilities as a duelist. However, in the event that Jaden should lose, that last move will be undone – countered, negated, whatever you would like to term the condition. Do you remember what that was? It is critical that you do, otherwise my concerns will seem unfounded and therefore be lost upon you.

Although Yubel is a factor, there is another factor to this duel, and that is that of the Supreme King. Jaden, as I am sure you have already accepted, _you_ are the Supreme King. He and you are two sides of the same coin. As you may have ascertained, the strength of the Supreme King is supreme. You also know that he is meant to conquer a great evil. While this current case is pressing, I do not believe that it is that evil of which the legend speaks. With that in mind, I advise you not to waste the power of the Supreme King, for it will be needed later.

It is necessary that you further explore the Supreme King. I believe that this is a subject in which Yubel is learned, and therefore I think you would find it conducive to your endeavors if you were to consult her on that matter. I also believe that Jesse should be informed, as this is his battle.

That said, I want to note that this is not your battle, Jaden. You've had plenty of battles in the past, and you have performed well, but this is not your battle. You are welcome to assist us in any way which you please, and I suspect that you wish to stay close to your love – although please do not allow anybody to exploit your relationship with Jesse – but you must be aware that, at the climax, it must be Jesse who is the victor.

However, there is a part in this war for you which I have alluded to several times in this letter, and indeed have focused a good number of paragraphs upon the matter. And thus, I give you this task: to help restore the balance that your actions have shifted. I do not rebuke or chastise you for your actions that day, because I do believe that they were the correct, if not the only, actions that you could take.

As a final note, I will leave you with these two riddles, in hopes that they may guide your thinking and help light the way through the difficulties ahead. Forgive me, for I cannot speak of them plainly. I ask you not judge of me too harshly.

The first being as follows: What has a pain, yet feels none of it?

The second being as follows:

Closely observe the one who sings  
>Beware the secret the bringer brings<br>Seek to destroy it before it clings  
>For secrets are shrouded with deadly rings<br>And rings do not bring many good things  
>But instead bring traps and falls and stings.<p>

My second piece of advice for you  
>Is to clearly search to procure the clue<br>They are usually missed, being so few  
>I entreat you to know that any will do<br>Like the smallest traces of ire and rue  
>Adorning the visage of someone new.<p>

I impress upon you not to lose sight  
>For those who lose sight often take off in flight<br>Leaving others to struggle and stay back and fight  
>As they valiantly battle with all their might<br>In attempt to destroy the unsightly blight  
>So that they may return to that which is right<br>By the complete destruction of their plight  
>For they are the ones who look to the light<br>And never desert it when times are tight  
>And with them comes a more peaceful night<br>And times of plenty and times of delight.

But should you wander into despair  
>And find yourself wishing to repair<br>That which at one time you thought was so fair  
>The one thing that you need do is stare<br>For that which you wish sits outside your lair  
>Regarding you as if it could glare<br>Pleading your help to end this nightmare  
>So tread cautiously to not make others aware<br>For you will be betrayed by the clothes that you wear  
>And when you find yourself in the finer air<br>Your next task you'll find waiting there.

Remember my words and often reprise  
>For they just may save you from your demise.<p>

I am aware of the difficulties you will have in decoding this message, so I will leave you with one final piece of advice, and that is that cleverness that comes too late is hardly cleverness at all.

I also leave a final request, and that is that you give this letter to Jesse, for I believe all of the information it contains is necessary for him to know as well.

Geri

Jesse put the letter down on the table. The Oracle's words were cryptic at best and absolutely unfathomable at worst. He looked over at Jaden, who was still staring down at Jesse's letter, his eyes skimming the writing on the page.

A minute later, Jaden looked up. "So I guess we know where we're going," he said, the shape of his mouth set in a determined expression. "We're going back to Duel Academy."

There was a small pause as Jesse did nothing but nod dumbly. Jaden continued, "But first, what was that thing that Blake gave you?"

Jesse pulled his deck off his duel disk and pulled out the Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle card. "This," he said. "They managed to retrieve him as they pulled us out of the car."

Jaden nodded. "Blake gave me Winged Kuriboh. I suppose the two little guys were trying to help us bust out of there, weren't they?" He smiled.

"Hey," Jaden said. "Didn't Geri say that she was going to leave something in the envelope? Did you check it?" Not waiting for an answer, Jaden snatched the envelope off the table.

Out fell two rings and a note.

"J-squared," the note began, "these rings will allow you to travel to Duel Academy and back here. They will only work twice – once there and once back – so I suggest you use them wisely. We will meet again in two days. Geri."

Jesse blinked. That note and these rings were definitely not in the envelope when he opened it. Jaden snatched up one of the rings. "So how are these supposed to work?" he asked. "Do we just say 'Duel Academy' and end up there?"

Jesse shook his head. "No Jaden," he said, and savored the slight reddening of Jaden's face as he said his name, for Jesse knew Jaden loved to hear his name spoken by his accented lips. "I think we're supposed to put them on and then walk, like how we got here."

Jaden eyed the ring on his finger. "Well," he said. "Put yours on, and take my hand. We're off."

Jesse put out his hand, no ring on it. "Wait," he said.

Jaden raised an eyebrow.

Jesse let out a relieved sigh. "I just want to say," a pause, "thanks for having my back out there, Jaden."

He smiled and looked at Jesse. "Jesse, look at me." Jesse acquiesced. "No seriously, in the eyes," Jaden said. "You're my friend, and friends look out for each other, no matter what."

Jesse remained silent, but his mind was bursting with a thousand thoughts. _"So we're just friends, and nothing more? You can't possibly expect me to believe that, Jaden. I've kissed you and held you enough times to know that's not true."_

But the words wouldn't come out.

_"Jesse!"_ he chided himself. _"You just have to say them. Just say his name. Jaden. You've done it before. Jaden. I need to ask you something."_

Jaden raised an eyebrow. "You okay, bro? You're trembling."

Jesse let out his breath, not even realizing that he was holding it. "It's nothing," he said, unable to look Jaden in the eyes anymore, lest he betray himself. "I'm just…thinking, I guess."

"I get that. There's been a lot going on, especially for you. If you ever want to talk, you know I'm here."

Jesse chucked at the irony of that statement. "Jaden, you're the only one here," he said, half-jokingly. _"But that's not entirely true,"_ he thought. _"There's also Yubel."_

What a strange thing, Jesse marveled, to have feelings like love for your best friend but be unable to speak them, for fear of what someone else might think.

As if sensing his thoughts, Jaden spoke again. "It's Yubel, isn't it?"

Jesse said nothing.

Jaden spun around to a more comfortable position. "You know," he began, "You saved me. I never would have lasted long in that duel against her if I didn't have your cards."

If Jaden wanted a response, he wasn't getting one, so he continued. "I guess I mean to say that even though it was just me up there – and Sy too – I felt like you were right beside me." Jesse turned his head to Jaden and blinked. Jaden let out a breath. "Do you know why I chose to fuse myself with Yubel?"

"You had to end the duel," was his simple answer. "There was no other way due to her Spell Chronicle card. You had no choice."

"No Jesse, we always have choices."

Jesse inhaled quickly, his heart pounding in his chest.

Jaden continued, "Yubel showed me something. We have a past that I didn't know about." A pause, as if he was thinking. "Do you remember when I told you about what happened in that dimension as we went to rescue you?"

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, you said the Supreme King took over and you became the most evil mastermind since Cruella de Vil. Was there more?"

Jaden almost laughed at the analogy, but quickly composed himself. "There was more. The Supreme King and I are the same spirit, so in a way, I suppose that Jaden Yuki is the Supreme King."

Jesse blinked. "I'm not sure I follow, but continue."

"Yubel, in a past life, pledged to be the protector of the Supreme King," Jaden continued. "You know how she always caused problems for me as a child? She was trying to protect me." He shrugged, "Although I suppose she was a little overprotective, but it's the thought that counts right?"

The other boy raised his eyebrows, as if suggesting that no, it's not the thought that counts.

"When I combined us," he began, his voice faltering slightly, and Jesse noticed that his leg was shaking, bobbing up and down in an uncontrollable, steady, rhythmic pulse, "it wasn't that I planned to. I wasn't even sure, going into that duel, if I would be able to." Another pause. "But then I remembered you, Jesse."

Jesse perked up immediately. "You did what?"

"Yeah, I thought of you," Jaden repeated. "I thought of how I went through so much to save you, and how much my friends suffered because of me, and I thought that this was the only way I could make things right." It was Jaden's turn to look down, 'But I was scared Jesse. Man, I was scared! I had no idea what this would mean for me, or for everybody else that had been sent among the stars. It was totally uncharted territory.

"And then, well, I thought of all my friends. You, Syrus, Alexis, Chazz, Axel, Jim, Hassleberry, Zane, Aster, Blair, Atticus - even Crowler and yeah, Yubel herself. You have to understand Jesse, what I saw—" he shook his head, tightly shutting his eyes, "—Yubel was so devoted. She was beautiful, and she chose to become what she is now in order to protect me."

Jesse could do nothing but stare as he took this new revelation.

"And I thought, 'I have to be brave. For everybody. For all the people whose lives I've wronged.' Maybe I was repenting for my actions as the Supreme King. Maybe it was the spirit of the Supreme King that called out to Yubel and sensed the good inside – I don't know."

It was so out of character, Jesse marveled, for Jaden to be thinking this much. How had he missed this aspect of his personality, when he'd thought he'd known him so well? Since when did Jaden become so reflective?

Or was this all a part of him talking to Yubel? As much as Jesse didn't like to admit it, Yubel and Jaden had something that he would never have. He felt a twinge of jealously just as Jaden spoke again.

"But Jesse," he said, a slight note of hesitation in his tone, "I know that Yubel and I being the same soul is difficult for you, but remember that you can always talk to me about anything that's bothering you."

The blue-haired boy looked at Jaden, who smiled, as if to say, that's what friends are for! "Okay Jaden," Jesse said, "Let's do this. We're really off this time."

And so they were.

* * *

><p>If you don't know what an "adumbration" is, here is the definition of the verb "to adumbrate" from :<br>1. To produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.  
>2. To foreshadow; prefigure.<br>3. To darken or conceal partially; overshadow.

With that in mind, pieces should start falling together. Like, _really_ start falling together, if you read carefully enough. If you don't see the connection yet, then I'm doing my job. :D But once you actually know the connection, you're left with some pretty interesting questions. If you think you know, post a review!

And yes, Jesse is starting to have doubts about Jaden. We'll see where _that_ takes them, shall we?

Also, I rewrote some of Chapter 1 so that it fits better with the events that occur in this chapter, so go back and reread that...it might help answer some more of the questions you encounter in this chapter. I also fixed the 1st person point of view, because I decided it was too inconsistent with the rest of the story. I also cut about 1000 words, so its about the length of this chapter, if not shorter, my notes disregarded. It should read more smoothly now.

~ Until next time,  
>.:;~JakillNearBeg~\\;:,'.


	5. Secrets Revealed

Hey guys! I want the thank everyone for reading this story - Chapter 1 reached 200 hits on Sunday, October 17, 2011. According to my calculations (because I'm a nerd :3), 26% of readers continue to Chapter 2. 67% of them continue onto Chapter 3, and 100% of readers continue onto Chapter 4. So I suppose this gets better as it goes along, ya? :D

This chapter is only about 5,000 words, which is over 1,000 words shorter than the others. But we get more action, more plot, and more Jesse/Jaden, so it's worth it, right? Still unbeta'd, so all mistakes still belong to me.

While you read, look for themes of night and darkness in this chapter. Secrets Revealed, night, darkness...well, you should be able to put it together.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<br>****Secrets Revealed**

By this time, the sky had turned dark, so Jesse and Jaden arrived on Academy Island unseen. They were standing at the path on the outside of the main building, and with quick whispering ducked behind a statue to avoid being seen by the passerby.

"I say, Mr. Crowler—"

"Dr. Crowler."

"Ahem. Excuse me, _Dr._ Crowler, you say that two more students have disappeared?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Jesse never showed up for any of his classes, and neither did that slacker Jaden. With the slacker it's not so surprising, but Jesse hasn't missed a single class since his arrival at Duel Academy. And thus, I took it upon myself to investigate—"

"Hardly likely," Jesse chuckled to Jaden, silently.

"—and found that nobody had seen either of the boys all day. Even Zane's brother, who follows the slacker around like a duck follows its mother—"

"He _has_ a name, y'know," Jaden whispered to Jesse.

"—said he hadn't seen either of the boys. He may now be an Obelisk Blue, but he's very easily intimidated, and I like to think I would have scared the truth out of him if at all possible. And so I checked with the other foreign students, but neither Axel nor Jim said they had seen Jesse all day." He threw his hands up. "This is a disaster! My reputation will go up in flames if I lose a student that I invited! This is not happening!"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "It's good to know that some people are still themselves under a crisis."

Jaden stifled a laugh, making a noise.

Crowler whirled around on the spot. "Something the matter?" the other voice asked. Male.

"No," he said, "I just thought I heard something." Jesse heard the clatter of his feet as he turned around and resumed walking. "So I'll select two students to be invited to your tournament, sir?"

A pause. "Of course, and you may tell these foreign students that they are specifically invited. I was hoping to invite Jaden myself, but as he's currently MIA, I suppose we'll have to do without him." A sigh.

"And what of Aster Phoenix?"

"And what of him?" the voice asked, curious. "I thought he was a free agent now."

"Will he be participating?"

"I am not at liberty to reveal those details, Mr. Crowler."

Crowler began a remonstration, but composed himself. "Very well," he said. "I'll send you the results tomorrow."

"Thanks for accommodating me on such short notice, Mr. Crowler."

"THAT'S _DR. _CROWLER!" he bellowed. "I have a PhD in Dueling: I am _DR._ Crowler!"

A snicker, or a snort. "I'll remember it," he said.

Jaden grabbed Jesse's shirt and pulled him down as the figure walked away from the building. Crowler stood in indignation for a few moments, muttering something, before he too walked inside.

"Whew," Jaden sighed, slumping against one of the statues. "That was close." He let out another breath. "So, stop number one, the abandoned dorm?"

Jesse nodded. "Yupp!" he said. "You know the way, right?"

"Dude, I'd know my way in the dark," Jaden answered. "I've been there so many times it's like the back of my hand."

Jesse didn't bother reminding Jaden that it indeed _was_ dark, or that he used the wrong idiom. "Lead the way, partner," was all he said. Jaden rose from his crouch and ran off into the darkness, with Jesse hard on his heels, following, the pounding of his worn shoes on the ground swallowed by the night.

The trip to the abandoned dorm wasn't uneventful. Although it was nighttime, any place with hundreds of teenagers is going to have some kind of nightlife, and Duel Academy is no exception. Jaden stuck close by the trees, far away from the narrow paths that tangled around Duel Academy that whoever was on the path would be aware of a person's presence, but not of that person's identity. This, Jesse realized, provided them with the optimal intersection of secrecy and haste. The few times they did see somebody, they hugged the trees even tighter, so tightly that Jesse nearly ran into one a couple of times. Occasionally a twig or something on the ground provided a small impediment, alerting the others of their presence or threatening to roll out under the feet, enticing them into tumbling to the ground. Jaden faltered once as he saw Jim and Alexis, deep in conversation, but then increased his pace, darting by them so quickly that they perceived a disturbance in the star cloth and turned their heads as if to endeavor to ascertain the source, threatening to spot Jesse. He immediately darted behind a tree and kicked up the turbo, dashing away from the peering eyes.

After a good twenty minutes of running, Jaden slowed his pace to a hearty jog, allowing both boys to begin to catch their breath, for by this point they were heavily panting. As they jogged, now in the area of the island that few dared penetrate, Jesse's mind began to wander, for he was not so exhausted so that he couldn't think. Why had Geri written them letters, and could they really trust them? Perhaps it was an imposter, but how would that explain Sari's behavior? How did this Oracle business actually work, anyway? How did Geri see into the future? What were the mechanics?

Then his thoughts drifted to recent events. Who could want the Crystal Beast cards? It was somebody that knew about their power, of that much, Jesse was certain. Could it have been some kind of bitter rival? But who would go to the lengths, and why would they also kidnap Jaden? And what was that about with the duel disks – why include them, and why not steal Jaden's deck too? Jesse knew that he had several pieces of a chain that was missing even more links – that he was trying to figure out a puzzle without a frame of reference.

What was he supposed to make of that rhyming nonsense that Geri had included?

Why couldn't somebody just give him the whole story? It had only been one day, but already Jesse Anderson was getting tired of this whole business.

He looked up ahead at Jaden. Maybe he wasn't as much a part of this deal as he was, but he was giving his all. Jaden never complained, Jesse thought – at least not about serious things. He supposed that he himself never complained much either, but who was to judge that? Jesse resolved to take a leaf out of Jaden's book. He couldn't complain if Jaden wasn't going to. He had two options: to either retrieve the Crystal Beasts, or to sit around and feel sorry for himself. He chose the former, and eschewed the latter and all its constituents.

The dorm loomed up after another five minutes of jogging, and Jaden abruptly began walking, breathing heavily, placing his hands on his hips. Jesse ran next to him and hopped as he finished his run and commenced walking as well, chest, shoulders, and torso rising with every breath. As in shape he may be, Jesse thought, he wasn't a superhuman. He still needed to breathe.

It was a couple of minutes before they reached the dorm and had recovered well enough to actually begin making coherent speech to each other. Jesse looked at Jaden, as if to say, this is your show, bud. Let's see what you got.

"We'll go in through the front," Jaden said, already walking towards the entrance.

Jesse looked around nervously. "I'm not sure, Jaden," he said tentatively. "I mean, something feels _off_ about this place, you know?"

Jaden spun around. "Jesse," he said, the sound of his voice like a gentle caress, "You don't know how right you are." He turned around and kept walking, and Jesse could just make out his odd gait in the sheath of darkness.

"This is the abandoned dorm," Jaden said, preambling, because Jesse was quite aware of the face. "As you may know, this is where several students suddenly went missing, never to be found again, except Atticus."

There was a pause in the conversation and Jaden stood still, waiting for Jesse to walk next to him. Jesse had his left elbow placed in his right hand, and cupped his chin in a pensive pose. "Why don't you relate the story of the dorm, Jaden, just so we know all of the details?"

"At first, this was one of the Obelisk Blue Dorms," Jaden started, his voice hushed to a whisper. "It was completely normal, until one day the students started disappearing. Nobody actually knows why."

Jesse blinked. "What does everybody suspect?"

Jaden considered, pausing for a second. "Well, it's kind of difficult to say," he started. "When Alexis dueled one of the Shadow Riders here in our first year, something weird happened." He paused again, whether because he was rummaging through the details of his memory or for dramatic effect, Jesse had no idea. "She said that she actually felt the attacks of her opponent. Like, real pain."

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Real pain?" he asked. "Kind of like in that alternate dimension, where the monsters were real?"

Jaden's eyes lit in alarm, and Jesse could have sworn he noticed them change color for a brief second. "Maybe!" he exclaimed. "That could explain why we were there in the first place." He looked down at the ground, saying nothing.

"Well," Jesse said. "It doesn't look like there's much here."

"No Jesse, I think there's something you should see," Jaden said, walking away. Jesse raised an eyebrow in an uncomprehending, questioning look, but followed.

Jaden led them through a tangle of halls and empty rooms, the exact kind one might expect to see in something so old and downtrodden and forgotten. It was almost poetic, Jesse reflected, if it wasn't the kind of place that was prone to being the secret hideout for the preparation of the next zombie apocalypse. Shaking the thought from his mind, he increased his pace, hurrying after Jaden, the floorboards creaking under his weight as his hasty movements stirred up the dust that had settled on the floor. Jaden sneezed.

"Bless you," Jesse said.

Jaden stopped abruptly as Jesse said those words. "Thanks."

The two boys reached a large doorway at the end of a particularly long hallway. Jaden lifted the latch, and the door swing inward. "This was the dueling arena," he said, taking the steps down. "We think that this is how the students disappeared – by dueling."

Jesse shot a look in Jaden's direction. "Who's 'we'?"

Jaden turned a light shade of red, although it was too dark for Jesse to notice. "Yubel and I," he said sheepishly, as if self-conscious about sharing such a detail with his friend.

"Hmm," was all Jesse said, choosing to ignore this fact about Yubel. "But I thought all of them disappeared, so who took the last one?"

The ominous question hung in the air between them, suspended, the large elephant in the room that nobody dared mention. And there is was – one of the missing links, in plain sight, responsible for defying all logic.

"Maybe the last duel was a draw?" Jaden asked. "That would mean both players lost, so they'd both disappear."

"I don't think it works that way, Jaden," Jesse said. "Besides," he continued, "who's to say that you have to lose to disappear?" He walked down the stairs onto the field, fighting the image of a crypt that was stealing into his mind. Jesse placed a hand on his head. In the background, Jaden was protesting. "Jesse," he began cautiously, "I don't think that's such a good idea. Last time these weird _things_ showed up."

Jesse spun around faster than the eye could follow. "What kinds of things?" he asked, the alarm clear in his voice.

Jaden pointed, nearing hysterics. "Like that!" he exclaimed, pointing to a shadow that was beginning to form on the ground on the opposite side of the field. It began to take shape.

A women's voice ricocheted off the walls of the room for a second – it wasn't a scream, although it was certainly an urgent yell, almost a command, like something was saying _save him!_, and Jesse frantically looked around, alarmed, determining that the source came from Jaden's direction. Within seconds Jaden was next to him. "Jesse!" he cried. "We have to duel our way out of this!" He activated his Duel Disk, and Jesse did likewise.

The shadow finished taking shape. It spoke, with a voice that didn't seem to make any sound, almost as if it was speaking directly into their heads, and the invasion was quite unwelcome as both boys tightly shut their eyes and willed it away.

_"How kind of you to come here,"_ the voice said. _"It is not so often that we are given such willing meat. We have grown hungry over time."_

If that isn't a morbid though, Jesse mused, grimacing.

"We're not going anywhere!" it was Jaden, but his voice sounded different – higher, and colder. Jesse looked at him again, and noticed that his eyes had changed color – Yubel's eyes. Jesse would know them anywhere. "You cannot take us so easily, for I have the power to fight you off! And fight you off we will!"

_"Brave words for a Duel Spirit," _the voice claimed, darkly chuckling. _"However, we grow bored here. If you wish to go down fighting, then we will only be happy to oblige. Let us begin._

_ I'll go first,"_ it said. _"And I summon my Armageddon Knight to the field in Attack Position!"_

The field alighted, and the monster appeared, sheathing its sword, its black hair emerging from its iron mask.

_"Then I'll send my Stygian Street Patrol from my deck to the Graveyard as a part of Armageddon Knight's effect."_

The boys watched, but nothing happened on the shadowed side of the field, which was almost impossible to see.

_"Finally, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn."_

"Then it's my go!" Jesse cried, picking the top card out of his deck. Sure, he was scared, but there was nothing like dueling to get his spirits up, and that made Jesse feel confident – dueling was what he was best at, and it thus afforded him with the best shot at winning. "I'm up, and I think I'll start by lighting it up a bit in here, so check out my Wattdragonfly!"

He slapped the card on the duel disk, and the colorful dragonfly appeared on the field. Jaden shot Jesse a sideways look, as if to ask, again?

"I'll then place these two cards facedown," Jesse declared, doing so, "and then I'll hand it over to Jaden."

"If you say so," Jaden said, drawing his card. "I'll place one card facedown and activate the magic card Hero's Guild!

"Here's how it works," he explained. "We each send the top card of our decks to our graveyards, and if that card was a warrior type monster, we can add it to our hands, and this card is destroyed. If not, Hero's Guild stays on the field. So let's give it a shot! Go, Hero's Guild!"

_"The Beginning of the End,"_ the shadows declared.

Jesse drew his top card and looked at it. "Watt-Joule Conversion Factor," he said, placing the card in his graveyard.

"Elemental Hero Clayman!" Jaden declared. "And I think I'll add him to my hand, so Hero's Guild is destroyed!"

The card shattered, and Jaden added his monster to his hand.

"Now, Polymerization! Fuse together Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Sparkman to form Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

Jaden held up his two monster cards with Polymerization between then, and the familiar vortex swirled them together. A bolt of thunder rained down from the cavern ceiling, and the large, yellow-and-purple warrior took its place.

He held up another card. "Not done yet!" he said. "I discard Elemental Hero Necroshade to the graveyard to destroy your Armageddon Knight! So say _adios_!"

The monster was destroyed as smoke engulfed the shadow's field. _"Very well,"_ it answered. _"Trap cards, activate!"_

"Uhh, trap cards?" Jaden asked. "That's not good."

_"First Call of the Haunted, then Filling the Mound!"_

"So he's going to bring back his Armageddon Knight," Jesse said, "Allowing him to send another Dark monster from his deck to his graveyard—"

"—and Filling the Mound lets him send two cards from his hand to his graveyard in order to take one Dark monster from his graveyard and add it to his hand," Jaden finished. "Uh-oh, that's not good!"

_"So I'll send my Dark Armed Dragon to the graveyard with the effect of Armageddon Knight, and then I'll discard my Mad Dog of Darkness and Mystic Tomato in order to bring it to my hand!"_

Jesse shot a wide-eyed look at Jaden. "Jaden, do you know what Dark Armed Dragon does?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be legendary. I thought nobody had it anymore."

"I guess you thought wrong!"

Jaden looked at his cards. "I'll set one card facedown," he said, "and that ends my turn."

_"Mystical Space Typhoon will destroy the card you just played!"_

Jaden smirked. "Why thanks, because you just destroyed my Dummy Marker, allowing me to draw two cards!"

He did so, and the voice exploded in Jesse's brain. _"You shall pay for that insolence!"_ it screeched. _"Now, I summon my Dark Armed Dragon! Be prepared, for there's nothing that can stop me now!"_

Jesse startled as the ground beneath him shook. Jaden, however, remained in a form, ready position, cards in hand, eyes determinedly staring.

The ground shook again, and a large, black creature emerged from the shadows. To say it was an impressive sight would be a gross understatement. Easily twelve feet tall, it towered over both the boys. The dragon swiped its tail menacingly and bellowed.

_"Now, using the effect of Dark Armed Dragon, I shall remove from play the Mystic Tomato in my graveyard in order to destroy Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"_

Before either of them could react, Jaden's lone monster was destroyed. "Ahh, Thunder Giant!" he cried.

_"Next," _the voice said,_ "I will remove Stygian Street Patrol from my graveyard to destroy your facedown card, Jaden Yuki!"_

"Sorry guy!" Jaden called out. "But I'm activating this one. It's called Remote Revenge, and it lets me change the target from my card to your Dark Armed Dragon!"

_"Very well,"_ the voice said, not faltering as its monster was destroyed, as if that had been the plan from the beginning, _"I can still summon this turn and attack. And so, I sacrifice my Armageddon Knight to summon the Summoned Skull! Attack Jaden directly with Lightning Stirke Attack!"_

"Not so fast!" Jesse called out. "Go, Wattdragonfly, intercept his attack and take the hit!"

The monster, which had been remarkably docile during the past few minutes, took flight and intercepted the electricity that was heading straight for Jaden. It was fried in seconds and shattered.

"Thanks to Wattdragonfly's effect," Jesse said, "I can take any Watt monster from my deck and special summon it to the field, and I choose to summon the Watt King Cobra!"

The monster Jesse summoned was an orange snake, with a crown of ice upon its head and a bolt of lightning down its side. It flickered its tongue out, smelling the air, and its tongue was not forked, but instead the shape of a lightning bolt. "To finish things off," Jesse announced, "I activate the trap card Wattcannon, so you lose 600 Life Points!"

The Shadow's Life Points dropped from 8000 to 7400.

The sound of a card being placed facedown was heard, and then there was nothing.

"It looks like it's my turn!" Jesse cried, drawing another card. "I summon the Wattpheasant!" he cried out, placing the fearsome blue, winged creature on his duel disk. It appeared on the battlefield, and sparks flew around it as the Wattcannon shot again, lowering the Shadow's Life Points from 7400 to 6800. "Now," he declared. "Watt King Cobra, attack its Life Points directly!"

Instead of actually moving, the electric snake monster flicked its tongue out and spat into the shadows. The Shadow's Life Points dropped from 6800 to 5800.

"Thanks to Watt King Cobra's effect," Jesse said, "I get to add one Watt Monster from my Deck to my Hand, so I choose the Wattgiraffe!" He flipped through his deck and selected the card, then placed his deck back in its slot.

"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Photon Lead, meaning I can special summon any level four or lower Light monster, so I summon Wattgiraffe!"

The Wattcannon fired again, dropping the Shadow's Life Points a further 600 to 5200, and the short giraffe appeared on Jesse's field. "Now, Wattgiraffe, attack him directly!"

This time, the monster actually did run towards the shadows, and exited not a moment later. Regardless, the Shadow's Life Points dropped again, from 5200 to 4000.

"Wattgiraffe's effect prevents you from doing anything until the end of the turn!" Jesse declared, "So my Wattpheasant is ready to dive in and strike you again, unopposed! So let's take it to him, Wattpheasant!"

As if assenting, the bird swooped down into the shadows and was out a second later. The Shadow's Life Points fell from 4000 to 3000. Jaden was heard to give a low whistle, and then to mutter to himself, "Remind me not to mess with this guy."

"To finish," Jesse concluded, oblivious, "I'll activate Watt Extension! With this Spell Card, I chose one of my Watt monsters with an effect, and that effect continues until the end of the next turn, instead of the end of this turn. And I choose my Wattgiraffe, so there will be no more tricks from you!" he glanced sideways at Jaden. "Wrap this up for me, okay?"

Jaden grinned. "My draw!" he exclaimed, placing the card in his hand and examining it was glee. "All right, first I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Necroshade in my Graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Neos from my hand!" He placed his signature monster on his duel disk, and Neos appeared on the field. "Next," Jaden declared, "I activate the Equip Spell Neos Force, which raises Elemental Hero Neos's Attack strength by 800 points!"

The monster glowed briefly, and then returned to its normal condition. "Now," Jaden declared, punching a fist into the air, "Neos, attack the Summoned Skull and end this duel!"

The intrusive voice invaded their thoughts once more. _"It appears you've miscalculated, Jaden."_ It said. _"You attack will only deal 800 points of damage."_

"That's where you wrong!" Jaden shouted and Neos's attack made contact. The voice gasped. "And stop doing that! Neos Force's effect inflicts damage to your Life Points equal to the attack of your destroyed monster, so you lose another 2500 Life Points! Let us go!"

The jewel on Elemental Hero Neos's head glowed and shot a ray of blue light into the shadows. Then everything on the field disappeared, including the shadows. Jesse and Jaden turned their Duel Disks into standby mode and looked at each other. "Let's get out of here!" Jaden exclaimed, running for the stairs.

Jesse didn't need to be told twice.

Once outside, they collected their thoughts and caught their breath, having dashed all the way from the room to beyond the walls of the building. "Whew," Jaden said. "I sure hope we don't have to do _that_ again soon. That was scary."

"My question," Jesse said between bouts of catching his breath, "is what that was, and why it happened."

"That's two questions," Jaden pointed out, unhelpfully.

"And that scream?" Jesse asked. "It sounded like a woman, and it was coming in your direction and – oh," Jesse said. "Why did she scream?"

Jaden's eyes flashed to their dichromic scheme before returning to normal. "_Yubel_," he said, emphasizing the word, "Was telling me to protect you."

Jesse put a hand behind his head and onto the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture. "Oh, well then," he said. "Tell her I say thanks."

"She can hear you, y'know," Jaden said. "Everything I hear, she hears as well."

Jesse couldn't help but feel awkward.

"So anyway," he began, trying to break the tension, "Geri's letter says we should question Yubel about the powers of the Supreme King."

"I already did that," Jaden said. "She doesn't know anything that we don't already know, so I suppose Geri was wrong in that department." He paused, thinking. "Well, we didn't learn anything new about the Abandoned Dorm other than the fact that she shadows like to duel."

Jesse blinked. "Jaden!" he exclaimed. "That's how all of the students disappeared! They dueled the shadows and lost!"

"But we won, so shouldn't they come back?"

Jesse shook his head. "I don't think it works that way."

"Then how are we supposed to get them back?"

"I don't know if we can."

The sentence hung in the air between them, ominous.

Night had truly fallen on Duel Academy – the sky had darkened, and the stars twinkled brightly, holes in the little cloth that blanketed the world. The clouds had turned a deep indigo, a product of the darkness that swathed the island. The wind was playful, stirring up every now and then, flapping Jaden's coat and Jesse's hair, inconsequentially, before settling back down, deflated. The lights of the new Blue Dorm could just barely be seen over the treetops, for the Abandoned Dorm had been allowed to grow into the forest, forgotten.

"Okay," Jaden said, "We've investigated the Abandoned Dorm, and we find these man-eating shadows. We can't find out any more information about the Supreme King until something new pops up. So that means we still have to find out more about the legend of the Crystal Beasts, find out more about the actual setup of this duel Yubel and I had, and solve those riddles of Geri's." He counted the tasks on his fingers before throwing them up in exasperation. "And we still need to talk to Sari!"

"Well, we can talk to Yubel right now, can't we?"

"She says she already told you us everything we need to know."

Jesse thought back to her words in that space between worlds. _"Everything in magic has balance. What is set in motion must be completed or stopped entirely. Otherwise, the scale will tip, and the harmony will be thrown off. Just slightly, but just slightly is enough to carry much bigger ramifications than any of us are willing to deal with."_

The words in Geri's letter formed in his mind. "_What I do not believe you are aware of – Yubel, I now speak directly to you, so begin to pay attention – is that because the game itself is continued, other players will attempt to gain entry to fill the vacant space. By uniting your souls, you have upset the balance of that game."_

He must have been speaking aloud, because Jaden looked at him. "I get it, bro," he said. "We have to somehow stop that duel."

"But how?"

"Maybe if I dueled somebody and lost?"

"But I've already beaten you once or twice, and that didn't solve the problem."

Jaden blushed slightly. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." A pause. "Then maybe I have to duel Yubel again?"

"Jaden," Jesse's tone was admonishing. "You can't duel yourself."

"Then what can we possibly do?"

"Why don't you ask Yubel?"

Jaden took a step back. "What?" he asked.

"Why don't you ask Yubel? Shouldn't she know, considering she started this mess?"

Jaden took in a sharp breath. "Jesse," I don't think Yubel knows anything else."

"But she does!" the other boy said. "You were there – she spoke _through_ you."

Jaden blinked.

"Yubel said that the game never ended," Jesse said. "Geri said that was because it never ended on – how did she say it? – convention." He looked at Jaden, in the eyes. "I think that you and Yubel need to duel the same person, and one needs to win, and the other needs to lose."

"You?"

"No. Remember what everyone's been saying? Our struggles are different. I get the feeling that we shouldn't interfere with the other's quest. We can stick around to be of assistance, but we shouldn't play any sort of critical role until one of them is cleared up."

Jaden nodded his agreement, and the two stood there, silently, each bombarded with his own thoughts.

"Jaden?"

"Yeah?"

"What is Yubel like?"

He was caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you think about her?"

"Jesse, I love her. You know that."

He took a deep breath. "But not the same way you love me."

Jaden's voice was so soft it could barely be heard through the susurrations of wind that threaded its way through their conversation, as the stars threated their way thought the night sky. "No, Jesse," he said. "I can't love you the same way I love her."

Jesse bit his lip.

"But," Jaden continued, barely managing the utter the word, "I can't love her the way I love you."

The blue-haired boy released a sigh he didn't know he's been carrying. "It's just hard for me," he said. "I think I might be getting—"

"Jealous?" Jaden asked.

A rueful smile. "Yeah."

"Yubel still feels that way too, sometimes," he said. "And then I point out that I fused my soul with her and not you, and then she lets it drop."

"And isn't that weird for you, Jaden?"

"I mean, yeah, but…" he shrugged. "This is something you have to deal with on your own."

Jesse looked down at his feet. "Yeah," he said, "I suppose so."

There was another uncomfortable pause between them before Jaden said, "Well, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well," Jesse said, "It's getting late. We can explore this more, or we can go back and talk with Sari."

"What if we did neither?" Jaden asked.

Jesse looked at him, eying him strangely. "What do you mean?"

* * *

><p>Yeah, I meant to end it there, sorry. What do <em>you<em> think Jaden meant? Did he catch something that the rest of us might have missed?

I'm actually falling behind in the writing...I officially have written 542 words for Chapter 6. So, um, yeah, I should probably get crackin'...

In the meantime, please review ~ ! And thanks for reading! :D

JakillNearBeg


	6. Minutiae

Hey guys! Thanks for sticking through and reading this far! We finally get to the meat and potatoes of the story - the actual tournament, and its really going to start coming together this time. I suggest going back and rereading Geri's riddles before reading this chapter. If you make the connection between those and what goes on here, it'll make so much more sense and you'll be reading with more understanding. If you don't make the connection, then don't worry! It'll all become clear in time. This chapter is almost entirely action, so it should read pretty quickly. We also finally get to see Jaden dueling by himself, which was refreshing for me. Haha. It was fun imagining all of the opponents and their strategies and how to get out of pickles...you'll see what I mean.

When we left off last, Jesse and Jaden had just escaped the Abandoned Dorm and were talking about their next move.

Thanks for reading, and let's go! Remember that this is unbeta'd. I skimmed through it quickly and corrected as I went along, but as always, there will be things that passed over my eye.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>  
><strong>Minutiae<strong>

"So this is it," Jaden gasped, looking around in wonder.

Domino City was being its usually friendly self. The skyscrapers reached for the blue ceiling, their height immense, yet still falling short of the azul barrier above.

"This is it," Blake said, stretching his arms behind his back, which, Jesse noticed, did good things for his arms. "In order to be more efficient and ensure our way into the finals, we need to split up. I'll go with Alec, and you two can go together. We'll reconvene here at 7:30."

Jesse looked around. "Where are Sari and Geri?"

"They were detained," Blake said dismissively. "We'll see them tomorrow, if not the next day."

"How will they got enough points to get into the finals?" Jaden asked.

Blake smiled. "As you both know, Geri and Sari are more than capable duelists. Both of them specialize in quick wins. I'm confident in their abilities."

"And with that," Alec said, speaking for the first time, "It's time to go. See you boys at 7:30."

"Okay Jaden, let's do this!"

"Hunh?" he asked. The enthusiasm in Jesse's voice confused him.

"Let's work our way into the Finals!'

Jaden grinned. "How can I say no to a request like that?"

The pair started in the direction of the Kaiba Corporation Tower. Jesse pulled out his tournament identity card and glanced over it. "So I'm Jesse Anderson. Male, Third-year student at North Academy. They ranked me as a five-star duelist – that's as high as it goes, right? I currently have no points, but I'm worth five points if defeated. My rarest cards are Wattgiraffe and Watt-Joule Conversion Factor. What about you?"

Jaden read the information off his. "Jaden Yuki. Male. Third-Year student at Duel Academy. Five stat duelist. No points. Worth five if defeated. Rarest cards are Elemental Hero Neos and Super Polymerization." He looked up at Jesse. "That's about it."

Jesse pulled Wattgiraffe out of his deck. "Guess you're gonna be my wingman through this, right Wattgiraffe?"

"What about Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle?" Jaden asked. "Isn't he in your deck?"

"No," Jesse answered. "I can't take the risk of the ante with him, and if my deck gets stolen again, then I won't lose him. I'm only saving him for special occasions."

"Like the time during our four-way duel?" Jaden asked.

Jesse nodded. "Ruby is the cornerstone of the strategy with the Crystal Beasts. Without him, the deck doesn't function as well as it needs to. But even if there are only a few Crystal Beasts in the deck with Ruby, it's incredibly strong. The combos with Ruby's ability to swarm are endless."

"Yeah," Jaden said. "You could combine them with a permanent magic or trap card, or make a mass sacrifice for something without losing field presence. And then you could just keep doing it over and over." He paused. "But that isn't respectful to the cards."

"I hate to tell you this, Jaden, but I doubt that whoever took them is going to respect them."

"Then we just have to win them all back!" Jaden said. "Let's get 'em, Jesse!"

"Who?" he asked, looking around. "What about them?"

Jesse pointed towards two figures walking towards them—a boy and a girl. The boy's complexion was dark, probably Middle-Eastern, while the girl was as fair as a white sheet of paper.

"Hey!" Jesse shouted. "Do you two want to duel?"

The girl raised an eyebrow behind her dark orange sunglasses. She was dressed to kill, Jesse noticed, wearing a purple and white dress that brought out her curly brown hair, which was placed as meticulously around her torso as was humanely possible. Her shoes were a dark red, the color of lipstick, and her duel disk was modeled like Jaden's, although where Jaden's was rimmed red around the edges, hers was brown. As she spoke, her tone was cold and calculated, just like her appearance. "_You_ want to duel _me_?"

"Sure do!" Jesse replied, his mood unfaltering.

The boy stepped forward. He was dressed in a green vest not unlike the black one Blake had worn the other day, and his beige pants covered half of his brown shoes. "You're Jesse Anderson," he said.

Jesse shrugged. "Sure am!" he said.

The girl looked at Jaden. "Then you must be Jaden Yuki," she said, a sneer embedded somewhere in her voice.

Jaden blinked. "That's me!" he replied.

The girl frowned. "Then there's no point in us dueling you right now." She pursed her lips. "My name is Geminya Stone. Remember it."

Jesse gave her a questioning look, but she had turned around and walked away.

_"That was weird,"_ he thought. _"I wonder what she meant by that."_

"What was that about?" Jaden asked.

Jesse tried not to roll his eyes as Jaden voiced his exact thoughts. "I dunno," he said.

Jaden flicked a dismissive hand. "Well, this place is full of duelists, so let's challenge some of them!"

"I don't think it's supposed to work that way."

Jaden looked confused.

"I mean," Jesse said, "I'm supposed to be looking for my cards. I have to win them back. I should be dueling the people that hold the other six Crystal Beast cards."

"But how are we supposed to find them?"

Jesse winked and took out his deck holder. "Just leave that to Ruby," he said.

The spirit of Ruby Carbuncle materialized on Jesse's shoulder. Ruby jumped onto the ground and began sprinting towards the nearest street. Jesse ran after him, with Jaden not too far behind.

After being nearly squished by a car ("Although duel spirits can't become road kill," Jesse had said, a little too cheerfully), Ruby Carbuncle continued several more blocks, waving its purple tail, its round ruby end shining.

By this time, several participants had engaged in duels, and many crowds had gathered to watch. This created large spaces in the city, allowing Jesse and Jaden adequate room to run without hitting anybody. It also made it easier for them to keep track of Ruby, who had the luxury of simply running through people and objects.

"There!" Jesse shouted, pointing to a crowd of people that had formed around a duel. From the looks of it, Jesse guessed that the duel had just finished. He saw one boy, wearing a sleeveless shirt and black jeans, snatch a card out of another boy's hand.

"This is your ace?" he asked.

"Yeah," the boy said. "Dragonic Knight."

"It's useless!" the sleeveless boy said, but kept it.

"Hey!" Jaden yelled. "You can't just treat that kid's card like that!"

He looked at Jaden. "And what are you gonna do about it?" he asked.

Jesse approached him. "Duel you!" he said. "If I win, you have to hand over your Dragonic Knight and your ante cards!"

"That hardly seems fair," he said. "When you're only putting up one ante."

Jesse clenched his teeth and looked at the spirit of Ruby Carbuncle. It nodded and made a noise before disappearing. "I'll also ante my Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle!"

Several gasps could be heard at the mention of the card. "Jesse!" Jaden said. "You just said you wouldn't do that!"

"I won't lose, Jaden," he replied.

The boy readied his duel disk. "Then let's get this on with anyway!" he said.

Jesse drew five cards. "Duel!" he said.

"I'll go first," the boy said, drawing a card. "I summon one monster facedown, and that'll end my turn."  
><em>"A facedown monster?"<em> Jesse thought. _"Just what is he planning?"_

"I summon my Wattmole!" Jesse said. "Now attack his monster!"

"Your pathetic card has no attack points," the boy said.

"It doesn't need them!" Jesse retorted. "Wattmole's ability automatically destroys any facedown monster it attacks!"

"Fine," the boy said and his card was destroyed. "Since it wasn't flipped, Bubonic Vermin's effect doesn't activate. But even better, you not have a monster with no attack points on the field!"

"I place a card facedown and end my turn," Jesse said.

The boy drew. "I summon Hayabusa Knight in Attack Mode!" A duck-like monster appeared on the field, brandishing a long sabre.

"Hayabusa Knight can attack twice in one turn!" Jesse said.

"That's right!" his opponent replied. "And I equip him with Axe of Despair, which increases his attack to 2000 points! This duel's already over!"

"Wattmole has no attack points!" Jaden exclaimed, "Jesse, you gotta do something!"

"I activate my facedown Threatening Roar!" Jesse said. "Now you can't declare an attack this turn."

"Very well," he replied. "I'll just place this card facedown and end my turn."

Jesse drew. "From my hand, I activate the spell card Voltage Overload! By discarding one card, your monster loses half of its attack points, and its effect is negated!"

"So?" he asked. "It's still stronger than yours!"

"Not for long! I summon Wattgiraffe!" he said. "Then I play Double Summon, allowing me to summon my Wattkoala!"

"Wattkoala?" The boy laughed.

"Wattgiraffe has the ability to attack directly!" Jesse said. "Go! Thunder Charge!"

Wattgiraffe ran at the opposing player, head lowered in a position for a ram. It impaled the boy on the chest, and he was knocked over. His Life Points dropped to 2800.

"Now Wattkoala attacks Hayabusa Knight!" Jesse said.

"Reveal facedown card!" the boy exclaimed.

Jesse smirked. "Sorry, but Wattgiraffe's effect prevents that!"

The Wattkoala dashed forward and raked Hayabusa Knight across the face with a claw. The monster shattered and the boy's Life Points fell another 100.

"I'll switch Wattmole to Defense Mode and place these two cards facedown," Jesse said. "Turn end."

"You will pay for that!" he boy said, drawing a card. "I activate my Brain Control, so for the price of 800 Life Points, I can take control of your Wattgiraffe!"

Jesse grimaced.

"Next, I summon Panther Warrior in Attack Mode!"

The black panther appeared on his side of the field next to Wattgiraffe.

"He's going to sacrifice your monster!" the other boy cried out.

Jesse's opponent held out a Spell Card. "I activate Stop Defense! This will force your Wattmole into Attack Mode!"

Jesse's eyes widened in alarm.

"Finally, I reveal my facedown card. Black Pendant!"

"His other ante card!" the boy shouted.

"This card gives Panther Warrior an extra 500 Attack Points, and when it's destroyed, you lose 500 Life Points!" He punched his fist into the air. "Wattgiraffe, attack your former master!"

Jesse's score dropped to 2800.

"Now, I sacrifice Wattgiraffe in order to allow Panther Warrior to attack! Go for Wattmole! Since Panther Warrior has 2500 Attack Points and your monster has none, you have only 300 remaining!"

Wattmole was sliced in half by Panther Warrior's attack, and Jesse's Life Points fell to 300.

"I end my turn," the boy said, smirking.

Jesse merely smiled. "You think you've cornered me, don't you?" he asked.

"I have! You can't destroy Panther Warrior without losing the duel!"

Another smile. "There's always a way out of a lock. I draw!" His smile became a grin. "My deck isn't happy with the way you've treated Wattgiraffe," he said. "I reveal my facedown card, Wattcannon! Now every time I summon a Thunder-Type monster, you take 600 points of damage! So brace yourself, because I summon Wattpheasant!"

Jaden gasped. "I get it!" he said. "You had this one in the bag, didn't you, Jesse?"

"Now, because of my Wattcannon, you lose 600 Life Points! Wattcannon, fire!"

The electrical cannonball landed at the boy's feet, creating a blue explosion of electricity.

"Reveal other facedown, Wattcine!"

"What does that do?" the boy asked.

"Whenever a Thunder monster inflicts damage to you, I gain Life Points equal to the damage inflicted!"

"So you'll have enough to survive my Black Pendant's effect," he sneered. "So what? You still have to find a way to attack me."

Jesse smirked again. "No I don't! Wattpheasant, go directly for his Life Points!"

The colorful bird flew towards its opponent and clawed a talon across his shoulder. His score dropped to 300 as Jesse's rose to 1300.

"I still have Life Points!" he yelled. "And I still have a powerful monster!"

Jesse merely sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you I've already gotten past these obstacles? Wattpheasant's effect activates! Whenever he successfully inflicts direct damage on my opponent, I can remove from play one monster on the field."

Panther Warrior disappeared. The Black Pendant fell to the ground and shattered.

"Now you lose 500 Life Points!" the boy said.

"As if he cares!" the boy who's Dragonic Knight card has been taken. "You lose! Jesse, attack him!"

Jesse gave the kids a thumbs-up sign. "You got it!" he said. "Wattkoala, direct attack! Finish this creep!"

The monster ran across the field, tiny sparks discharging from its fur. Wattkoala leaped towards the boy and punched him in the cheek with a tiny fist. He fell to his knees, and his Life Points hit 0.

Jesse walked towards him. "Like we agreed," he said. "Hand over your ante cards and the Dragonic Knight."

The boy rose. "Jesse Anderson," he said. "This is only the beginning. You may have won this battle, but I assure you, you will lose the war."

He went limp and crashed on the ground, tearing the skin along his arm. Blood tricked from the wound.

Jesse gasped and knelt down to press his hand against the boy's skin, while Jaden shouted, "Somebody call an ambulance!" A girl took out her cell phone and started dialing. Jaden then ran over and took the boy's deck.

"His skin is cold," Jesse announced, and both he and Jaden backed away as quickly as possible.

Jaden was busy looking through the deck. "I have Black Pendant," he said, hold it, "oh, and here's the Dragonic Knight. Now for his other ante card…"

"Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle," the boy said, who had come running up towards Jesse. "That's why I challenged him. You're Jesse Anderson, right? The guy who's supposed to be using the Crystal Beast deck. What happened?"

"it was stolen," he declared as Jaden announced a "Found it!"

Jesse took all three cards. "Here," he said, holding the Dragonic Knight. "You should keep this card."

But the boy shook his head. "No, you should keep it. You earned it."

"But this has all your memories!" Jaden exclaimed. "How can you part from it so easily?"

"I suppose you're right," the boy said, "But I can't just take it from you. You should keep it. I think it will help you."

"Thanks!" Jesse said. "Here, then at least take this card."

It was the Black Pendant. The boy nodded. "Okay, thanks!" he said, and ran off. Jesse shuffled Dragonic Knight into his deck and looked at Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle. "I got you back, buddy," he said.

"Man!" Jaden exclaimed. "All of this dueling is getting me worked up! Who wants to do me?"

"A regrettable choice a words," Jesse muttered, suppressing a laugh.

The girl who had called for the ambulance stepped forward after a tentative look at her friends. She looked to be in her early 20's, maybe still completing her undergraduate years. "I will!" she said. "You're that boy with the Neos Deck?"

"I sure am!" he replied.

"Then let's play!" she exclaimed, a large smile on her face. "But we're not going to ante on this duel. Being able to duel against someone who can push me to my limits and really show me how to play is enough for me. That will be my prize."

Jaden smiled. A real smile, Jesse noticed, one that he hadn't seen in a long time. "That's what I like to hear! You've got yourself a duel!"

The crowd murmured some more before someone had the peace of mind to call out, "And what about the body?"

Jesse snorted, and then instantly corrected himself. "We'll hold off the duel until the ambulance gets here," he said.

As if on cue, the siren of the ambulance could be heard. Jesse looked to see it parked at the edge of the road, and he ran towards them to motion them. "It's over here!" he shouted, pointing towards the crowd, which was rooted to its spot. "Move!" he yelled.

With practiced ease, the paramedics removed the body within a minute. "He's not breathing," one of them told Jesse, "But his heart is still beating. We'll put him on breath support and he'll be fine."

"And we didn't even learn his name," the girl remarked. "Speaking of which, I'm Tamura!"

"Tempura?" Jaden asked. "Like the food?"

Jesse expected for her to be mad, but she burst out laughing. "I love tempura!" she said. "If you wish to call me Tempura, be my guest!"

_"Oh great,"_ Jesse thought. _"Another one."_

Suddenly, she was all business. "I'll start!" she said. "I summon Faith Bird in Attack Mode! Then I'll place two cards facedown!" She winked at Jaden as she did so, causing him to blush.

"Okay, my draw!" he announced.

"I activate my Trap!" she said, cheerfully.

"What?" Jaden asked. "I didn't even do anything!"

"Drop Off activates whenever my opponent draws a card!" she said. "It forces you to discard what you just drew."

Sighing, Jaden placed his card in the Graveyard. "Then I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman!" he announced. "Sparkman, attack Faith Bird!"

"Activate Waboku!" she cried. "Neither of our monsters take any damage from the battle."

_"What is her strategy?"_ Jaden thought. _"So far she's played three completely unrelated cards."_

"Fine!" he said. "I place two cards facedown. Turn end!"

"My draw!" she announced. "Hmm, let's see…I think I'll summon Luster Dragon! And I'll equip him with Gust Fan, raising his Attack Points by 400!"

"Yikes," Jesse said.

"That's enough to easily overpower Sparkman," Jaden said. "And take out a huge bite of my Life Points!"

"Next, I play the Spell Card Terraforming! This allows me to search my deck for any Field Spell Card and add it to my hand. And so, I activate the Rising Air Current! It raises the attack of all Wind Attribute monsters by 500 points!"

"This is so not good!" Jaden said. "Luster Dragon his 2800 Attack Points!

"Now Luster Dragon, attack Sparkman!" she said.

"Activate Hero Barrier!" Jaden said. "When I have an Elemental Hero monster on the field, this card negates one attack!"

She smiled. "Then it's a good thing I have another attack! Since Faith Bird is also a Wind-Attribute monster, its Attack rises to 2000! Faith Bird, attack Sparkman!"

"I don't think so!" Jaden said. "I remove the Necro Gardna in my graveyard to negate your attack!"

"Amazing!" Jesse said to no one in particular. "They're countering each other perfectly."

She sniffed. "Well Jaden, you may have survived this turn, but next time you're done! I place one more card facedown and end my turn."

Jaden drew. "I activate my Double Fusion!" he announced. "For the price of 500 Life Points, I can fuse together monsters twice! And so, I fuse the Elemental Hero Avian and the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in my hand to fusion summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

Jesse punched the air. "Yeah! And since it's a Wind monster, it gains another 500 Attack Points!"

"Now I fuse Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and Elemental Hero Sparkman to form Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!"

The new monster appeared on Jaden's side of the field. "Due to his effect, he gains 300 Attack Points for every Elemental Hero monster in my graveyard, and I have four! So Shining Flare Wingman has 3700 Attack Points!"

She gasped. "That many?"

"And every single one is aimed your way! Go! Shining Flare Wingman, attack Luster Dragon!"

Luster Dragon was destroyed outright, and Tempura's Life Points dropped to 3100.

"Now it's time for Shining Flare Wingman's effect!" Jaden shouted. "You lose Life Points equal to your monster's Attack Points!"

"Not if I activate this card!" She declared. "It's called Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment, and it reduces all effect damage I receive to zero until the end of this turn."

_"She just saved herself a lot of damage,"_ Jesse thought. _"She's good."_

Jaden sighed. "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn. Go!"

Tempura drew. "I activate my Pot of Greed, allowing me to pick up two new cards!" She did so. "Hmm, now I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

Jaden drew. "Okay, Shining Flare Wingman, end this duel! Attack her Faith Bird!"

"Trap Card, activate! Go Mirror Wall!"

"Mirror Wall?" Jaden said. "What does that do?"

She smiled, a real "I got you" kind of smile. "Mirror Wall halves the attack of an opposing monster. So Shining Flare Wingman's attack is cut in half!"

"So I lose him!" Jaden cried out.

Shining Flare Wingman dove for Faith Bird and hit the invisible wall. Its reflection showed for a second as it stopped completely and shattered into pieces. Jaden's Life Points fell from 3500 to 3350.

"Jaden may have the Life Point advantage," Jesse said, "But Tempura just totally outmaneuvered him."

"Activate Hero Signal!" he said. "This card allows me to summon any level four or lower Elemental Hero Monster from my deck! And I choose Elemental Hero Stratos!"

Elemental Hero Stratos appeared on the field. It has a blue torso and silver legs, and its wings were powered by the blades of their fans, which moves faster than the eye could follow. "Due to his effect, I can add one Hero monster from my Deck to my hand, and I choose to add Elemental Hero Neos to my hand!"

Jaden took the card from his deck. "Now, due to the effect of Rising Air Current, Elemental Hero Stratos has 2300 Attack Points, which is enough to protect him from your monster!" He surveyed the cards in his hand. "I'll place this facedown and end my turn. You can go."

She drew. "That was an excellent recovery, Jaden! As its now my Standby Phase and Mirror Wall requires a price of 2000 Life Points to remain on the field, I'm going to destroy it."

The card exploded, and Tempura sent it to the graveyard. "Now I play Graceful Charity! So I draw three cards and discard two of them!" She drew to five, and then discarded two, smiling. "Now I think I'll show you the real power of my deck."

"There's more?" Jaden asked.

She smiled. "Of course there is!" she exclaimed happily. "Since I discarded my Mist Valley Baby Roc, I can special summon it from the graveyard!" The monster appeared in Defense Mode, and Jaden recoiled slightly at the sight of its skull head. Tempura held out another card. "I play my Tribute Resurrection, which allows me to summon my Mist Valley Apex Avian at the cost of two cards on my field! So I'll destroy Faith Bird and Rising Air Current."

The monster was enormous, Jaden noticed. "Mist Valley Apex Avian has an effect you should know about," she said. "Anytime you active an effect, I can return any Mist Valley card to my hand to negate your effect."

"So you can only do that twice," Jaden said.

She smiled again. "I play the field spell Divine Wind of the Mist Valley!"

The field changed completely. Large blue walls of stone surrounded the crown. "Where are we?" Jaden asked.

"The Mist Valley!" She said. "Now, once per turn, when a Level Four or lower Wind monster returns to my hand, I can summon another Level Four or lower Wind monster from my deck!"

"So you have even more cards to make your lock work!" Jaden said.

"Exactly. I'd like to see you get yourself out of this one."

"So, you're done?" Jaden asked hopefully.

"Not a chance. Mist Valley Apex Avian, attack Elemental Hero Stratos!"

Elemental Hero Stratos was immediately destroyed, and Jaden's Life Points fell to 3150. "Activate Trap Card!" he announced. "N – Signal!"

"Don't bother," Tempura said. "I return Mist Valley Baby Roc to my hand using the effect of Mist Valley Apex Avian to negate your card's effect and destroy it!"

"What?" Jaden asked, as his card blew up in smoke.

"Now I active the effect of Divine Wind of Mist Valley! Since a Wind Monster just returned to my hand, I can special summon a Wind monster from my Deck! I choose Mist Valley Thunderbird!"

"Something tells me that this isn't good," Jaden said.

The Mist Valley Thunderbird was a curious looking creature. It waddled like a duck and had only 1100 Attack Points. "Care to tell me why you wanted him so badly?" Jaden asked.

"Sure!" she perked up. "Whenever Mist Valley Thunderbird returns to my hand, like by the effect of my Mist Valley Apex Avian, it is automatically resummoned! So I can use Apex Avian's effect an unlimited number of times in one turn!" She was bursting with excitement. "But anyway, he's going to attack you directly!"

Jaden's Life Points dropped again to 1550.

_ "This is really bad!"_ Jesse thought. _"Jaden's Life Points are almost cut in half, and he can't use any effects! How is he going to get past this?"_

Jaden just smiled and drew. "This is awesome!" he called out. "Tempura, you're really good!"

She smiled. "Thanks Jaden! I try my best!"

"I'm gonna be sick," Jesse complained.

"Oh, hey there little buddy," Jaden said, speaking to the card in his hand. "I'll play you. Winged Kuriboh in Defense Mode!" Jaden said. "Then, I'll place three cards facedown."

Tempura smirked. _"Oh," _she thought. _"I know what he's trying to do. Too bad it won't work."_

"I draw!" she said. "Mist Valley Apex Avian, attack Winged Kuriboh!"

"I activate Negate Attack!" he said. "So your Battle Phase ends!"

"Clever, Jaden," she said. "You know I can't negate Counter Trap cards with my combo. You just bought yourself a turn."

"I just hope it's enough," he said. "My draw!" Jaden sighed of relief. "I think I figured out how to get out of your lock!" he said.

"Oh really?" she asked. "Nobody's ever done that before!"

Jaden smiled. "Nobody else is me! I summon Neo Spacian Dark Panther in Attack Mode!"

She tilted her head to the side. "Just what are you planning?"  
>"Something crazy. Now, I activate the effect of Neo Spacian Dark Panther!"<p>

"I activate Apex Avian's effect!" she said. "Now I return Mist Valley Thunderbird to my hand, which allows me to negate Black Panther's effect and destroy it!"

"And I activate My Body as a Shield!" Jaden said. "Now, for the price of 1500 Life Points, I negate the effect of your Apex Avian!"

Her mouth fell open, but then she smiled. "Clever!" she announced. "I can only activate Apex Avian's effect once in a chain! But anyway, I get to resummon Mist Valley Thunderbird, which lets me summon Mist Valley Soldier from my deck due to my field spell!" She took her deck out of its slot and began looking for the monster. "But what does Black Panther actually do?" she asked. "It didn't change or anything."

Jaden smiled. "You'll see. But for now, I'll end my turn."

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Okay, my draw." She drew. "Since you can't activate any more effects with only 50 Life Points left, I'll have Apex Avian attack your Dark Panther!"

"Which is exactly what I wanted you to do!" Jaden replied. "Go, Transcendent Wings! I discard two cards from my hand!"

"Then I'll activate Apex Avian's effect!" She said. "Mist Valley Thunderbird, return to my hand!"

"I play the effect of Dark Panther!" Jaden announced. "By returning it to my hand, I can negate the effect of Apex Avian and destroy it!"

Tempura's mouth dropped open. "No!" she said. "Absolutely not!"

"Oh, absolutely!" Jaden said. "Now, the effect of Transcendent Wings resolves, so Winged Kuriboh becomes Winged Kuriboh Lv. 10!"

She blinked. "So it grew wings," she said, deadpan. "What does it do now?"

"I activate the effect of Winged Kuriboh Level 10!" Jaden announced. "By sacrificing itself, it destroys all monsters on your side of the field, and you lose Life Points equal to their combined attack!"

She gasped. "That's 2800 Life Points!"

"Exactly!" Jaden said as Winged Kuriboh Lv. 10 detonated, destroying Tempura's field. She smiled as her Life Points dropped to 300. "You know what, Jaden?" she said. "I'm having a lot of fun, and I hope you are too! I summon Mist Valley Baby Roc in Defense Mode!" she said. "Then I'll place a card facedown. That will end my turn."

Jaden positioned his hand over his deck. "You know," he said, "I'm impressed. I found a way around your foolproof combo, but you're not giving up one bit! In fact, you just want to fight even harder!"

She grinned. "That's me! I keep going until the end! The duel's not over until the last Life Point expires!"

Jesse's mouth dropped open.

"Hey!" Jaden said. "That's my philosophy!"

"I know!" she said. "You said it on TV during one of your broadcasted duels."

Jaden blinked. "I've had broadcasted duels?" he asked.

Tempura laughed. "You're funny!" she said. "But please, Jaden, draw a card!"

Jaden obliged. "I have no cards on my field and only one card in my hand," he said. "This could get interesting." He flipped it over. "I activate Convert Contact! I can only activate this card when I have no cards on the field. It lets me send one Neo-Spacian from my hand and one from my deck to the graveyard, and then I can draw two cards! So I send Neo-Spacian Dark Panther from my hand and Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin from my deck! Then I draw!"

He picked the two cards from his deck, then smiled. "I play Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two more card." He did so before flipping them around. "O – Oversoul!" he announced. "This lets me summon my Elemental Neos from the graveyard!"

Neos appeared, and Tempura took a step back. "Oh my gosh!" she said. "Elemental Hero Neos! This is so cool!"

The crowd started muttering again, and Jaden put his hand behind his head. "Um, Tempura," he said, "This is no time to be getting starstruck."

"Oh, right," she said. "As you were, then."

"My second card! R – Righteous Justice! This lets me destroy one Spell or Trap card you have on the field, so I target your facedown!"

She grimaced as her card was destroyed. "Windstorm of Etaqua would have switched Elemental Hero Neos into Defense Mode, so I would have had an extra turn." She placed it in her graveyard. "I guess you have a third card to play?"

"You guessed right!" Jaden said. "I play the equip spell Neos Force! This gives Elemental Hero Neos an extra 800 Attack Points, and when he destroys an opponent's monster in battle, they lose Life Points equal to their monster's Attack Points!"

She gasped.

"Elemental Hero Neos," Jaden said, "Attack Mist Valley Baby Roc and end this duel!"

Neos leapt through the air and punched the winged monster. It shattered, and then Neos appeared in front of Tempura.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "This is so cool! Elemental Hero Neos, so close I could almost touch it!"

Neos responded by delivering the finishing blow.  
>"You might not want to touch Neos," Jesse quipped. "I don't think he likes it much."<p>

Tempura had been knocked over as her Life Points dropped to zero, and Jaden ran over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Here, let me help you up." He gripped her hands as she stood up.

"That was so cool!" she said. "I can't believe I actually almost beat Jaden Yuki!" She pulled out her cell phone. "Oh, I have to tell my mother about this. She'll be so proud!"

Jesse walked up to them and blinked. "You're texting your mother?" he asked. "Who does that?"

"When you get older, you'll understand that having a strong bond with your mother is important," she mused, still texting.

Jaden looked from Jesse to Tempura. "So then," he said, "We'll see you in the Finals?"

She smiled. "Yupp! I already have eight points!"

"Eight points?" Jesse yelled. "The tournament's only been running for an hour! How many duels have you had?"

She paused, considering. "Um, that was my fourth."

Jesse's mouth fell open again, and he looked at his card. "Man, I only have three points!"

"And I have, um, how do I know how many I have?" Jaden asked.

"You check your Tournament Identity card," Tempura said. "I'm a four star duelist, so you should have four stars."

"Oh!" Jaden said. "So that's how this star thing works. Thanks for clearing that up for me!" he laughed, and she laughed along with him, and Jesse considered racing out onto the street and ending it all by throwing himself under the nearest bus.

"But you two should start hurrying up!" Tempura declared. "You'll never make it into the Finals at the rate you're going!"

The boys looked at each other and moaned.

"You know," Jaden said, "I could really use some chow."

"Me too," Jesse agreed, rubbing his stomach.

Tempura shook her head. "But it's only ten o'clock! When did you guys eat?"

"About an hour and a half ago," Jesse answered."

"That's much too long to go without food," Jaden said.

She gave a sigh of mock despondency. "You guys may be awesome duelists, but you're kind of pathetic."

"Gee, thanks," Jesse said.

She smiled. "I try! See you boys in the Finals!" With that, she walked away, waving.

"That was fun," Jesse said.

"Yeah," Jaden replied, "But I'm pretty sure all of this excitement so early in the morning isn't good for digestion."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's track down the next Crystal Beast card, okay?"

Jaden nodded, and they set off.

"Ruby Carbuncle!" Jesse said. "Lead the way!"

Ruby dashed off into the city, and Jesse and Jaden ran after it.

* * *

><p>"Well, there goes another one," Alec said as his opponent's Life Points hit zero. The girl walked away stiffly. Alec didn't bother about her ante cards, and she seemed to prefer it that way.<p>

Blake chuckled. "How long did that take? Two turns?"

Alec considered. "Well," he said, "Three if you count his turn."

The two burst out laughing.

"You know," Blake said, "I kind of feel like we're cheating, using our abilities and all."

The blonde boy shrugged as his duel disk went back into inactive mode. He took his deck and began shuffling it. "I mean, it's not our fault that we have these abilities. If we use for them for what needs to be done, then I don't see the harm in it."

Blake considered. "I suppose you're right. What are the other two doing right now?"

"Running."

"Not those two. Sari and Geri."

"Oh," Alec replied. "They're back at the house, in the card room. They're talking."

"About what?" Blake asked.

Alex smiled. "Why don't you just figure out how it's going to end?"

Blake returned his smile. "You know," he said, "Sometimes I wonder why I didn't meet you sooner."

Alex laughed. "And what are you planning to do about _those people_?" he asked, his tone implying that he wasn't talking about the ones around him, nor any of the people they had mentioned thus far.

Blake shrugged. "Oh, I'm not worried about Jade," he said. "He's pretty harmless. It's the girl I'm watching out for."

"She entered under a fake name," Alec said.

"I know," Blake responded, gritting his teeth. "We have a mission! I can't believe she's doing this."

Alex chuckled softly to himself. "I just wish she was a little more original. She could have made this so much more difficult for us, but she's practically guiding us to her." He looked at Blake. "Should we take care of her right now? I know where she is."

He waved a hand. "Nah," he said. "She's pretty harmless. Besides, I promised Geri and Sari they'd get a shot at her."

"Estrogen," Alec muttered.

His friend smiled. "So, where to next?"

Alex looked at his card. "Well, in order to enter the Finals, we need twenty-four points. So far, I have seven."

"And I have nine," Blake said.

"Yeah, I don't think it's such a good idea for you to go after all the high ranking duelists. You don't want to attract attention."

"Sorry," he muttered. "None of them have said anything, right?"

"Of course not."

"But they might," Blake said.

Alec smiled. "Ah, the uncertainties of the Oracle of the Near Future. What is it now? You saw them talking to the reporters, but you weren't sure of what they were saying?"  
>"No. I saw them walking towards the reporters."<p>

"Same thing!" Alec said. He walked over towards the edge of the fountain and sat on it, his legs dangling from the seat.

"But anyway," Blake said, "There's nothing I can do about that. Are they still arguing?"

"Yes," he responded.

Blake looked down. "Well, tell them to hurry up! We all need to enter the Finals. It's our best shot at finishing this."

Alec took off his jacket and folded it on his lap. "Okay, okay, can do. Is there anything else I need to finish?"

"Not for the time being."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we're actually late!" she complained.<p>

Her companion snorted.

"This is your fault," she said.

He shrugged. "Well, I mean, you have to get yourself ready—"

"And I would have had time if you hadn't kept me waiting!"

"You could have gone ahead without me!"

"I would have, but Chancellor Sheppard said we weren't allowed!"

"Guys, guys!" a third voice said. It was a girl's. "Stop bickering! We're all here, okay? I know, it sucks that we got here late, but we only have a couple more minutes."

"How many?" asked the first girl.

The other girl looked at her watch. "Um, I think about ten."

"Ugh," the boy's voice said. He took his deck out of his pocket.

"Aren't you hot in that black thing?" the second girl asked.

"Not at all!" he said, looking through his cards. "This ante thing is really gonna screw me over if I lose."

"It's not like the _Ojamas_ are rare cards," the first girl said.

He turned on her again, and the two started bickering.

"They fight like a married couple," a fourth voice said. Male.

The second girl sighed. "I know," she said, "But at least we're going." Her eyes sparkled. "Can you believe it? We're actually going to Domino City!"

The boy looked down through his glasses. "I suppose so. I just hope we're up to the competition."  
>"Don't worry, mate," another boy said, patting him on the back. "You'll do just fine." He sat down between the boy and the girl. "Besides," he said, "Jesse and Jaden might be here!"<p>

"The professor did say they were invited to the tournament, the girl mused. "Imagine running into them here!"

The first girl turned around. "Uh, newsflash," she said, "but none of us are going to be running into anybody if this boat doesn't speed up!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

"Stop." It was a sixth voice, male, much lower than the others. "Start preparing your decks. We've got a long day ahead of us."

The three sitting in a row looked up at him. "I suppose you're right, mate," one of them said.

"Let's prepare!" the girl said. She pulled out her cards and starting going through the contents of her deck. "We have to ante two cards, right?"

"Right," the boy's voice said. "You can ante either one or two."

"And one has to be a monster," she said.

"And another has to be a spell or trap card," the other girl finished. She pulled out her down deck. "I know exactly which cards they're going to make me ante."

"You don't get to choose?" the second girl asked.

The first girl shook her head. "Nope. It's your rarest card, no exceptions."

"So, I won't have to ante the Ojamas?"

Sighs.

"How much longer do we have to be with this dork?"

"Nine minutes."

* * *

><p>Tamura walked through the streets of Domino City, her duel disk on her arm. She looked at her deck.<p>

_"That duel I had against Jaden was really fun,"_ she thought. _"But even so, I realized that I'm only relying on one combo to win all of my duels. If someone else finds a way to defeat it, like Jaden did…" _She sighed. _"I just need to fix my deck! That's all! Where's the nearest card shop?"_

She walked down a street, keeping her eyes peeled. _"I heard there's a small one owned by the grandfather of the King of Games. Maybe I could find something there."_ She walked two more blocks before sighing again. _"I'm just going to ask for directions. Man, this city is huge!"_

She found a police officer, and he pointed her in the direction of the card shop. She thanked him and half-walked, half-skipped the rest of the way.

She knocked on the door. "Uh, hello?" she asked. "Is anyone here?"

The door swung inward. "Oh, hey," a man's voice answered.

Tamura stuttered. "Y-you're—"

"Yupp. I'm not actually competing in this tournament. Are you a duelist?"

She stared at him.

He laughed. "Okay, I guess so! You can come in! Feel free to look around." He backed away from her, clearing the way for the door.

She stood there.

"Uhh," the boy said, "are you okay?"

Tamura blinked. "Yeah, sorry, it's just that I was already having an awesome day and now it's gotten even better and because I got to see you and Jaden and then Jesse dueled and then I dueled Jaden and then I almost beat him but didn't quite but it was really close and—"

"Woah, slow down!" the boy said. "What's your name?"

"Tamura Shiota, Blood Type A positive, Sagittarius, age twenty two, recent of graduate of Duel Academy College and—"

"Please, calm down!" he said. "It's okay."

She stood there, silently.

"Hey," he said, "Since you're a duelist, would you like to duel me?"

Tamura blinked. "Me, duel you?"

She shrugged. "Why not? We'll just play on a table."

"O-okay," she said, and entered the shop.

The shop itself was much smaller than Tamura had expected. It was a humble little thing, with an aisle big enough for three people and a desk at the end with a cash register. Display cases hung everywhere, showing cards and packs, although they were rather bland and some were downright old. "_It's symbolic of the King of Games's origins,"_ she thought.

"Through here," the boy said, opening a door that led into the house.

It was all Tamura could do to keep herself from crying with happiness.

He pulled out a chair for her as they sat down, and then he sat down across from her. "Deck ready?" he asked.

"Deck ready!" she said. "Duel!"

Neither side did anything. "You can go first," he said.

"Oh, right," she mused. "Drawing a card…" Tamura looked at her hand and smiled. "I summon Mist Valley Thunderbird in Attack Mode!" she said. "Then I'll activate Graceful Charity, so I get to draw three cards and discard two."

She drew to seven cards, and discarded to five.

"Now I can play Monster Reborn!" she said, placing the card on the table. "I resurrect my Mist Valley Avian Apex in Attack Mode! Now it's your turn."

He drew a card. "Hmm," he said. "Mist Valley Avian Apex can negate any effect by returning a Mist Valley card to the hand. Since Thunderbird Special Summons itself after being returned to the hand, it's a great combo." He frowned. "But even great combos have their weaknesses. Here, let me show you." He placed a card on the table. "Valkyrian's effect activates in the hand, so your card can't negate it."

"Oh," she said, staring at the 3500 Attack Point monster on the field. "But you have to have the three Magnet Warriors in your hand, right?"

"I do, and I'm discarding them to the graveyard."

She nodded. "Okay, so I need to protect it with some Trap and Spell cards."

He nodded. "Uh-huh! It's not just enough to have a powerful monster with a good effect. You also have to have a backup plan."

"Can you help me with that?"

He smiled. "Sure! Let's go into the shop."

They walked back into the other room. "When I first started dueling," he began, "my Grandpa always told me to not only use powerful cards, but also my favorites. He taught me that no monster is completely weak."  
>"Like Kuriboh!" she said.<p>

"Exactly! Now, which of these are your favorite cards?"

Tamura fanned out her cards and picked a few. "These," she said. "Mist Valley Apex Avian, Mist Valley Thunderbird, Waboku, Windstorm of Etaqua, Harpie's Feather Duster, Graceful Charity, and Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment." She laid them on the table, eying them happily.

"Okay, you should keep all of these cards. What you need to do now is think about your strategy and try to think of all the ways somebody could beat it." She looked at him as he said this. "I also think you should add a second strategy. Feel free to look through the cards we have in the shop until you spot something that you like."

"Oh, thank-you!" She bowed. "Thank-you very much!"

She smiled. "Don't mention it."

* * *

><p>That duel was Jaden was fun. It was like, okay, now how does he get out of this mess...? Winged Kuriboh to the rescue, as always. Haha. I hope you guys liked Tamura - she's a fun personality to write. I hope this chapter carried a lighter mood than the others, which were kind of heavy. I hope you guys laughed at least a little.<p>

I know there are a lot of cliffhangers here. I'm practicing the art of writing multiple scenes, and so cliffhangers are necessary. It also helps me write more quickly, because I'm already left thinking about the next step.

The next chapter will have some more interesting developments. Now that we have 758296285821350423 characters, that is.

Please, let me know how I'm doing! Reviews are appreciated. ^^

JakillNearBeg


	7. Escalation

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I've actually had this written for a few weeks, but I haven't typed it. Ahaha. I've been busy studying the for SAT Subject Tests, yippie standardized testing. Chapter 8 has already been written - I'm just deciding where it should cut off, and then I have to cut it. It's shaping up to be longer than this (which is another short one). Lots of action here! As the title suggests, this is when conflicts start to really develop. Everything until now has just been child's play.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<br>Escalation**

The ship reached Domino City as scheduled. The six passengers unloaded and stretched, happy to be on the solid ground once more.

"We should split up if we're ever going to get enough points to go to the Finals," the taller girl said.

"Good idea, Alexis," said the shortest boy. He had a worried look on his face. "I just hope we don't get lost."

Alexis shook her head. "Nah. Chancellor Shepperd said we have reservations at a hotel. We'll all meet there once the day is done, and we'll eat dinner. Does 7:30 sound good to you guys?"

They murmured their assent. "Alright, we'll go off in pairs," Alexis said. "I'll pair with Axel."

The other girl in the red jacket tugged the short boy's arm. "I'll go with Syrus."

"Then that leaves me with Jim."

Alexis clasped her hands. "So it's settled!" she said. "We'll see you guys soon!" She walked away a bit too quickly, tugging Axel behind her.

"What was that about?" he asked.

Her face hardened. "There's something fishy going on around here," she said. "I saw Jesse and Jaden the other night on Academy Island. They were trying to avoid being seen and running in the direction of the old dorm. I'm sure they're here, doing something." She clenched her jaw. "And once we get to the Finals, we're gonna find out."

Axel nodded. He took out his identity card. "Well then, we'd better get started. Alex Brodie. Five-star duelist. My ante cards are Volcanic Doomfire and Tri-Blaze Accelerator."

"Four-star duelist. Ante cards are Cyber Angel Benten and Doble Passe." Alexis nodded. "We're gonna be a well sought-after pair."

"We'll need to be," he said. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Ruby! Slow down!"<p>

Jesse and Jaden were running through the streets of Domino City, chasing the legendary duel spirit. It was dashing in the most reckless of manners, although Jesse supposed that it had no worldly concerns of safety, being a spirit.

He was set on retrieving the remaining Crystal Beasts—much too set to tire, even after following Ruby for a couple of miles. Jaden was right behind them, and although he was breathing heavily, he kept his pace with Jesse's.

Ruby dashed around a corner, narrowly dodging two pedestrians. It scurried along the sidewalk and made another series of quick turns, causing the boys to lose sight of it for moments at a time.

Jesse stopped as he saw Ruby mad a beeline for a building. They were now deep within the city, several buildings and alleyways away from the nearest street. From the looks of the place, it hadn't been used in quite some time, and was probably forgotten about. "It's a warehouse," he said, and then sighed. "Oh course. It's always in a warehouse." He removed his jacket, now breathing heavily. "What better place to hide a card than with a bunch of other cards?"

The sound of Jaden's breathing was ragged. He too removed his jacket as Jesse unbuttoned the two buttons on his shirt, exposing his chest even more. "Walk around in tight circles," he said. "It helps prevent injury."

Hands on their hips, they did so until Ruby Carbuncle came running back out of the building and climbed up Jesse's shirt, resting on his shoulder.

"Hey there, buddy," Jesse said. "What did ya find?"

Ruby purred. Jesse cocked his head to the side. "What?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Ruby purred again.

"Amethyst Cat? Okay, we're goin' in."

The door of the warehouse was ajar. It creaked when Jesse pushed it, but swung inwards regardless.

"That was too easy," he said.

Light flickered on as they entered. "Welcome, welcome!" boomed a voice. "It is so nice to see you here, Jesse Anderson. And oh, I see you've brought a friend."

"Show yourself!" Jaden yelled.

They could hear the frown on the fear of the disembodied voice. "You are in no position to make demands. I have something you want."

"And I have something you want!" Jesse retorted. "So we are in a position to make demands!"

Laughter echoed throughout the room as the doors swung shut. Jaden spun around and tried the handle. "It's locked!"

"Correct," said the voice. "The doors are linked to my duel disk. If my Life Points hit zero, they will open."

"So we have to duel out way out?" Jesse asked.

"But of course!" The glee in the voice was uncontainable.

Jesse grinned: dueling was what he did best. "Where do we go?"

"I'll take care of that, don't worry."

Jesse threw a worried look at Jaden. Faster than the eye could follow, walls of glass shot up from where they were standing, nearly slicing Jesse's foot. Jaden banged on the walls. "Let us out!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"

More laughter. "Why, getting you there, of course. Ready for a ride?"

"No!" Jesse said defiantly. The floor opened beneath them, and the boys fell, hands flying in the air, limbs dangling helplessly.

It had been three seconds later when Jesse landed on his shoulder, hard. He head snapped back and hit solid material. He saw stars, and his vision tumbled around its frame. Jesse closed his eyes, tight, and clenched his jaw, willing the pain to stop. He was only vaguely aware of Jaden kneeling over him.

The next thing he was aware of was the sound. It sounded like a saw cutting through metal – a high-pitched, harsh screech. Jesse moved his arms to cover his ears, and a small whine escaped his lips as pain shot through his right arm. It was numbing, and he relaxed immediately, letting both limbs drop.

A few seconds later, Jesse opened his eyes to see that it was dark. Jaden's face loomed over his, his hair moving wildly in the wind. Jesse realized that although they were underground, that metallic screech was a result of them moving very quickly.

Jaden's lips moved, but Jesse was unable to hear the sound. Before Jaden could speak again, they abruptly stopped, and Jaden was thrown backwards against the front of their container. He struck his head and upper back, making a sound so painful that Jesse strained his next to see, before letting out a small "oof" and lying still.

Jesse lost track of time, but had estimated it was only a couple of minutes until he was able to sit up before pain blinded him. He looked at his shoulder the see the fabric ripped and the skin beneath it red, but otherwise unharmed. There was a scrape on the back of his hand, and a bit of blood trickled from a cut on his cheek. Using his good arm, he felt the back of his head – it was tender to touch and possibly bruised, but he'd live.

Summoning his energy, he stood up. He and Jaden were in some kind of cart – a rusty one at that – with sides that stood about waist-high. Jaden was on his back, eyes closed, on the other end. Jesse forced himself to make the effort to walk over. He gingerly knelt and spoke Jaden's name.

"Jaden," he said. Jaden lay there motionless. "Jaden!" he called, more fervently this time. Again, no answer. He took a trembling hand and felt Jaden's wrist. A knot twisted in his stomach, and Jesse felt his shoulders tense up. There it was: a pulse. Jesse breathed a sigh of utter relief and loosened.

Jaden's eyes opened. These weren't his usual brown eyes. These were different – one was a foamy sea green, a fusion of turquoise and peridot, and the other was the orange color of the sunset.

These were Yubel's eyes.

Jaden shook his head. "Really Jesse," he said, his voice in Yubel's octave. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep Jaden out of this?"  
>Jesse immediately shot to his feet and winced momentarily at the pain. His jaw tightened. "He chose to follow me!"<p>

Jaden rolled his eyes. "As if he'd make any other decision!"

Jesse grimaced and clenched his fists. His shoulder was bothering him, and a trickle of blood had reached his lip, but keeping up the act in front of Yubel was much more important than simple bodily comfort. "Why do you have such a problem with me?"

He shook his head. "Ah Jesse, always so direct." Yubel's eyes hardened, and she stood up to face Jesse directly. "Because you put Jaden's life in danger!"

"But you job is to protect him!"

"I would rather that not be necessary!" she screeched. "You selfish boy, only caring for your own problems! Why can't you think about how your actions will affect others?"

Jesse's pain was blinded by anger. Had it not been Jaden's body, he would have felt tempted to lash out. Instead, he brought his face closer to Jaden's. "You should talk about being selfish," he snarled. He could see the glassy reflection of himself in Jaden's eyes, and he was, once again, suddenly aware of his shoulder.

"What," Jaden spat, "has a pain, but feels none of it?"

Jesse said nothing, letting more blood trickle onto his lips and into his mouth. It tasted salty and unpleasant. Jaden looked disappointed.

"I hoped you'd have gotten it by now," he said as he sat down again.

"What are you doing?"

"Jaden's unconscious, remember?"

"So you're just going to leave him there?"

"No Jesse." The voice was hard, solid, unlike anything he'd heard Yubel use before. He looked her in the eyes. They were as cold as ice. "You are going to leave him here. You are going to leave him here while you duel for your Crystal Beasts. It is too dangerous for you to bring Jaden with you, especially unconscious."

Jesse said nothing. He felt it was outside of his power to argue with the duel spirit.

"Oh, and one last thing," Jaden said, before closing his eyes. "You might want to wipe the blood off your face. It's rather disgusting."

* * *

><p>"So Blair, do you actually know where we're going?"<p>

"Not a clue," she replied. "We should probably challenge someone soon."

The pair walked on in silence after this remark. To Syrus, it looked as if Blair was experiencing some form of city syndrome, for she was mesmerized by the height of the buildings. While Syrus looked at the ground as he walked, Blair looked towards the sky.

"Ahh, I'm sorry!" she said.

She had bumped into two girls, both of them only slightly taller. One of them had flaming hair that looked as if it would burn to touch. She turned around and eyed Blair silently while her companion, a dark-skinned girl with sable hair, remained motionless, as if Blair was never there in the first place.

"That jacket," she said, "Are you two students at Duel Academy?"

"Y-yes," Syrus answered.

The redhead smiled. "Excellent," she commented. "Excellent."

* * *

><p>Tamura left the card shop, debating whether to run into the city and show off her new abilities or to stay longer to draw out her time with the dueling legend.<p>

The boy had appeared at the open door. He was waving. "Good luck!" he called.

Tamura pulled out her cell phone. "Oh, I almost forget! I have to text my mother! She'll never believe what just happened!"

He blinked. "You're texting your mother?" he asked as Tamura's fingers clicked across the keypad. "Does she know how to use a cell phone?"

"Of course she does!" Tamura barked, thumbs still busy.

"Ahh, sorry! I was wondering, because Grandpa can't even figure out how to use the microwave."

"Don't you just put the bread in, push down, and wait for it to pop up?"

"Um, that's the toaster."

She gave a dismissive flick of the hand. "Well, I've got a tournament to win!" She had evidently finished texting her mother. "Thank-you so much for all of your help!"

"Don't mention it!" he called as she ran off. "Come back anytime!"

The city air felt fresher than ever before as she ran, hair streaming behind her in the wind. Tamura wasn't entirely sure of her destination, but she was sure that she was going to find somebody to duel and she was going to defeat them. She was entering those finals, and she'd have herself another shot at that match with Jaden Yuki.

It was a feeling she couldn't explain. That boy ignited all of her passions for dueling. He seemed to enjoy every minute of it, yet there was something else she found as well. He couldn't hold back, almost as if he was afraid to lose. His dueled with every bit of power he possessed and countered her move for move. There was a charge Tamura felt against such a powerful opponent, something that made her love dueling. She wanted it again.

She reached an area crowded with people, several of whom invariably had Duel Disks strapped to their arms. She ran up to one at random, a boy, and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, wanna duel?"

He turned around, sizing her up. A grin. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "You don't have a change against me."  
>She smiled as she clicked her deck into her Duel Disk. "We'll see about that," she said. "You'd better believe I'm not going easy on you!"<p>

"You'd better not be. I want to see your rare cards before I take them! My turn, I draw!" He looked at the card and placed it on the Duel Disk. "I summon Takriminos in Attack Mode!" (1500/1200)

The monster appeared on the field, a green, humanoid creature with a bill somewhat resembling that of a duck's. "Ahh! Kappa!" Tamura screamed.

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," he boy said.

"Draw!" She added the card to her hand. "Your monster only has 1500 Attack Points! I'll oppose it with my Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator!" (1400/1200)

He snorted. "Uh, sorry to point this out, but your monster has _less_ attack points than mine."

"That's not what I'm after," she said. "I activate its effect! My discarding one card from my hand, I can return one Spell or Trap Card on the field to the owner's hand!" She placed a card in her graveyard. "So say good-bye to your facedown!"

Wind swept through the field, and the boy's card appeared in his hand. "Fine," he said. "I'll just set it again next turn."

"But you won't!" she said. Tamura reached for her graveyard slot and took the card out. "Since the card I discarded was Mist Valley Baby Roc, it gets special-summoned to my field!"

"Once again," he pointed out, "Less attack points."

"Be patient!" she cried. "Now, time for a field spell. Go, Divine Wind of Mist Valley! Now, every time a Mist Valley monster returns to my hand, I can special-summon one low-level Mist Valley monster from my Deck! Now I'll activate this spell card, Gust of Wind!"

He frowned. "I've never heard of any of these cards."

"Gust of Wind returns all monsters on the field to the owner's hands. Then, our opponents take 600 Points of Damage for each monster on our fields. Finally, we are able to special-summon monsters as if the monsters returned to our hands were used to Tribute Summons!"

"So you'll summon a high-level monster?" he asked.

"Exactly! Gust of Wind!"

Both Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator and Mist Valley Baby Roc returned to Tamura's hand, and her opponent's Life Points dropped to 2800. Takriminos returned to its owner's hand, and Tamura's Life Points dropped to 3400.

"That was a bad move," he said. "I summon my ace - Amphibian Beast!" (2400/2000)

Tamura raised an eyebrow. "Not bad, but not good enough! I summon Mist Valley Apex Avian!" (2700/2000). She pointed to her field spell. "Because of the Divine Wind of Mist Valley, I can special-summon any low-level Mist Valley monster I wish, and I choose the Mist Valley Falcon!" (2000/1200)

Mist Valley Falcon stood about a foot shorter than Amphibian Beast. However, both monsters were considerably dwarfed by the Mist Valley Apex Avian. "Mist Valley Apex Avian, attack his Amphibian Beast!"

The large bird took flight and swooped down, raking Amphibian Beast across the belly with its fearsome talons. Amphibian Beast shattered, and the boy's Life Points fell to 2500.

"Now you're wide open! Mist Valley Falcon, attack him directly! I return Mist Valley Apex Avian to pay the cost for Mist Valley Falcon's attack."

The monster rushed forward and swung its sword across the boy's chest. His Life Points dropped to 500.

"Since Apex Avian is a Wind-Attribute monster, Divine Wind of Mist Valley activates! I Special-Summon Mist Valley Baby Roc from my Deck!" (600/400) The small monster appeared on the field in Attack Mode, flying around in a tight circle. "Finish him off, Mist Valley Baby Roc! Direct attack!"

The boy's Life Points fell to 0, and he fell to the ground.

"In one turn!" One of the spectators exclaimed.

The boy took out his deck. "The ante rule – "

Tamura shook her head. "Keep them," she said. "I don't like the ante rule."

Another spectator came up to her. "Duel me!" she said. "Please!"

"No, me!" Another girl called out.

Tamura put her hand on the back of her head. "Um, please form a line?"

There was some pushing as about four duelists formed a line.

"Wait!" Tamura exclaimed as the first opponent, a boy, readied his Duel Disk. "I have to tell my mother about this!"

He blinked, but said nothing in reply.

* * *

><p>"I play Ojama Delta Hurricane! This destroys all of the cards on your field!"<p>

If there was a reply, it was muffled by the sound of the explosion. Chazz coughed as the resulting smoke surrounded him. "Hey, watch it!" he said. "You're getting the coat dirty!"

"I hate to break it to you mate," said Jim, his duel partner, "But that's not a difficult thing to do."

"Just can it!" Chazz yelled back. "Reverse card open! Go Call of the Haunted! This trap card lets me summon X-Head Cannon from my Graveyard!" (1800/1500) Chazz pointed towards his remaining opponent, a man probably in his 30's. "I attack you directly!"

The X-Head Cannon fired two shots, one from each cannon. Both made contact on the opponent's chest, and his Life Points dropped to 0.

Chazz flicked his hair. "And another win for the Chazzster."

Jim, ignoring his partner, took out his identity card. "Let's see," he said. "Both of these guys were only three-star duelists, so if we add that to our previous five…"

"We're not even halfway there!" Chazz exclaimed.

Ojama Yellow appeared on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Boss! With us, you'll go straight to the top!"

"Yeah, that's right Boss!" echoed Ojama Green and Ojama Black, both of whom were floating in the air next to Ojama Yellow.

"Shut up!" Chazz yelled, hitting both spirits with a well-aimed punch. "Let's go, Jim."

Jim cast a look at the defeated opponents, both of whom were retreating. "Okay," he said. "Shirley, are you ready for some more dueling?" The crocodile made a noise, which Jim interpreted as a yes. "Where to?" he asked.

Chazz pointed in a random direction. "That way!"

"Do you know where that goes?"

He inhaled sharply, his proud chest rising. "Of course I do!"

Jim sighed and followed him.

Chazz led them through a tangle of city buildings and boulevards, rounding the same block multiple times, executing 180 degree turns, and charging down streets. "Chazz," Jim said. "This is the ocean! We need to go farther into the city!"

"I know where I'm going!" he snapped.

"We can see the Kaiba Corp. Tower. We should go there. I'm sure plenty of duelists will be in that area."

"Exactly what I was going to say!" Chazz replied. He turned around and began marching triumphantly in that direction. Jim sighed.

"Come on Shirley. We need to make sure he doesn't get lost."

The crocodile made an assenting noise.

* * *

><p>After having somewhat grudgingly wiped the blood off his face, Jesse tried to move Jaden's unconscious body. His shoulder pained him too much, so he knelt down and wrapped his good arm under Jaden's shoulders an awkwardly dragged him out of the cart and into the solid concrete. "This could have been a subway," he said to Jaden, although he knew the other boy couldn't hear his words. Neither of them had lost their jackets; Jesse took both from the cart, dressed Jaden in his, and then donned his own. With one last glance at Jaden, he left.<p>

There was a single door in the visible area, and light flooded from the cracks in its doorway. It was across both sets of tracks, so Jesse hopped down, taking great care to avoid the legendary third rail – one wrong step and he's be toast, literally – and walked to the other side. There was no ladder, but the ground was only at head level, so with a grunt and much pain, he pulled himself onto the median that separated the two sets of tracks. He sat down, catching him breathing and waiting for his shoulder to stop flaming. Once it cooled, he hopped down and made his way across the second set. Eventually, he stood in front of the illuminated doorway.

Jesse reached behind him and detached the card holder box on his waist. He opened it and took out his deck. Then he reached into the small compartment that separated his special cards. He took the three of them and shuffled them into his deck. That done, he placed his deck into his duel disk and put the card holder box back onto his belt.

Jesse reached a hand for the door, but it swung open before he could make contact. Light rushed to greet his eyes, and he shut them immediately, warding off the assault.

"Come, come!" a voice called. "There's no need for you to be shy."

Jesse just barely opened his eyes to a squint. He saw a middle-aged man with white hair and a mustache dressed in a suit with pinstripes. On his arm, over the blazer sleeve, was a duel disk, and on his head was a top hat. He held a cane in his hand, and seemed to be leaning on it. There was a monocle over his left eye, and a chain – presumably one belonging to a pocket watch – snaked out of his right pocket only to return into the same pocket.

"Where's Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat?" Jesse demanded.

The man placed his palms face up, cane still in his left hand, and weighed them, imitating the motion of a scale. "Oh, she could be here, she could be there." He grinned. "But that's not relevant. The fact of the matter is, you are here." He made a wide, captivating gesture with his cane and stepped to the side as he did so. "And, even more serendipitously, perhaps," he intoned, "is the rare case that we are both wearing Duel Disks." He reached into his pocket and took out a deck. "As the case may be, I happen to have my deck on my person." He inserted it into his Duel Disk. "As these circumstances have been met, it is only protocol that we duel."

Jesse could now see that they were in a yellow room. It was circular, with only a far door and no windows. The ceiling was low, so low that Jesse didn't even need to jump to reach it. The only remarkable thing that Jesse noticed was the large, black circle that had been inscribed on the floor.

"It is only protocol," he said, "That you give you back what you stole."

The man's eyebrow shot up. "That _I_ stole?" he asked. "My dear boy, I have stolen nothing! I have simply taken note of certain circumstances and manipulated them to my advantage. Pray tell, what is wrong with that?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "We'll duel, and when I win, you'll tell my where Amethyst Cat is!"  
>A smile appeared on the gentleman's mouth. "The rules are as follows. If you win, you can claim your card. But if <em>I<em> win, then I can claim _you_."

Jesse stiffened, for the condition threw him off balance. "You claim _me_? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I claim you. Your body, friends, thoughts, memories, family, and possessions – all of it." He cocked his head to the side. "I see you have an interesting possession in the other chamber."

"What?"

"They boy," he intoned.

"Jaden's not my possession!" Jesse retorted. "How could you say that?"

The man shook his head. "But you love him," he said. "Sickening as that is—"

Jesse bit his lip.

"—is that not what love is? Ownership? The same way you love your cards, for they are your tools to do your bidding."

"No," Jesse said. "My cards and I have a bond!"

"And you speak of bonds," he said. "It's curious that you should see things that way. Your so-called 'bond' is one of ownership, for 'I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine,' as the Song of Songs goes."

"Don't quote the Bible at me," Jesse said, "and I don't think you get it."

He chuckled. "No, I don't think _you_ get it, little boy." He tapped his cane on the ground. "My conditions still stand."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll never have your Amethyst Cat." He shook his head. "More's the pity."

Jesse clenched his teeth. "Fine!" he said. "I'll accept your challenge."

"Now step inside the circle."

"I am not stepping inside that circle," Jesse repled.

The man stepped into the ring. "See?" he said. "It's harmless. If you still refuse, well then, Amethyst Cat…"

Jesse stepped inside the circle. "I'm here." He readied his Duel Disk. "Stop talking and just duel me! I don't like your head games!"

"They're not head games, Jesse Anderson. By the way, my name is Richard DuMort."

"DuMort?" Jesse asked. "That is probably the most fake French name I've ever heard."

DuMort snarled, a visible difference from his former calculated composure. "Just duel! I draw!" He added the card to his hand. "I'll place two cards facedown and summon Balloon Lizard in Defense Mode." He held out a card. "Next, I activate the Spell Card that will seal your fate! It's called Chain Energy!"

"Chain Energy?" asked Jesse. "What does that do?"

He smirked. "It costs each of us 500 Life Points to play any cards from our hands."

Jesse's eyed widened in alarm. _"Then his facedown cards are either going to reduce my Life Points, make him immune to the negative effect of his Spell Card, or negate any cards I have to play! I have to end this fast."_ He readied his Duel Disk and drew five. "My turn!" he announced, drawing the sixth card from his deck.

"I activate my Trap Card! Meteor Flare! When you have more than 3000 Life Points, I can activate this card. I discard two cards from my hand to inflict 2000 points of Damage!" He discarded the remaining two cards from his hand.

"2000?" Jesse asked. "Already?"

"Take this!" DuMort screeched. Flames shot from the Trap Card and engulfed Jesse. He could feel the searing heat of the fire and threw up his Duel Disk to protect himself. His Life Points fell to 2000.

"Now I can only play four more cards!" he exclaimed.

DuMort laughed. "No!" he cried. "If you play a fourth card, Chain Energy will sap your remaining Life Points and you'll lose!"

Jesse frantically threw an eye across the cards in his hand. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card Wattcine!" he said.

"And you pay 500 Life Points!"

"I don't care about that, since Wattcine allows me to regain my Life Points!" he looked at his hand. "Wattgiraffe, perfect," he said. "I summon Wattgiraffe in Attack Mode!"

"Now you're done to 1000! And that silly monster doesn't have the Attack strength to overcome Balloon Lizard's Defense!"

"Wattgiraffe, attack DuMort's Life Points directly! Watt Nullify Charge!"

The monster rushed forward, and static discharged from its fur. It rammed into DuMort, who seemed to almost lose his balance.

Jesse pointed to the Wattcine card, which was glowing. "Thanks to this, I gain the amount of Life Points that you just lost! That's 1200!"

DuMort's Life Points dropped to 2800, and then Jesse's rose to 2200.

Jesse held out another card. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Photon Lead! This lets me Special-Summon any Level 4 or lower Light Monster from my hand, and I choose the Watt King Cobra!"

DuMort pointed to Chain Energy. "That move'll cost you 1000 Life Points!"  
>Jesse wagged a finger at his opponent. "No it won't! When Wattgiraffe successfully inflicts damage to an opposing player, that can no longer activate the effects of Spells, Traps, or Monsters until the end of the turn! Therefore, I don't have to play any Life Points for Chain Energy's effect!"<p>

DuMort's teeth clenched, and he made a fist with his empty hand. He slammed the cane into the ground in frustration.

Jesse pointed at him. "Now Watt King Cobra, attack him directly! Watt Venon!"

The snake reared back its head and spat. A large glob of purple and yellow, something like silly putty or taffy, flew across the air and struck DuMort's chest. The venom began eating away at the material of his blazer. His Life Points fell to 1800.

Jesse pointed to his Wattcine Spell Card. "Thanks to Wattcine, I gain 1000 Life Points!" His Life Points rose to 3200. He then pointed to Watt King Cobra. "Thanks to Watt King Cobra's monster effect, I can add one Watt monster from my Deck to my Hand! I choose my Wattrabbit!"

"Oh my," DuMort said as he drew. "Another stuff animal. Whatever shall I do?" he looked at his card. "I activate Nightmare's Steel Cage!"

"And pay 500 Life Points due to Chain Energy!" Jesse said.

"Don't tell me how my own card words," he spat as his Life Points decreased to 1300.

Jesse looked at the steel cage that fit perfectly over the circle. "Draw!" he shouted.

_"Due to Nightmare's Steel Cage, I can't attack. So anything that I do will cost me Life Points, and I won't be able to regain them."_ He looked at his hand. _"Wattrabbit, Wattkey, Watthopper, and Thunder Dragon. I'll have to thin out my deck to help draw the right card."_

"I discard the Thunder Dragon in my Hand to draw two more from my Deck!" he placed the card in the Graveyard. "Since I didn't place it on the field, I don't lose Life Points!" He took out his deck and sifted through the cards, taking out both Thunder Dragons. Then he shuffled and placed it back into his Duel Disk.

"Trap Activate!" DuMort shouted. "This is my Life Absorbing Machine. It replenishes my Life Points equal to half the amount I paid in the previous turn."

"Turn end," Jesse said.

DuMort drew and pointed to Life Absorbing Machine. "Because of my Trap Card, I gain 250 Life Points!" His Life rose to 1550. "Next, I activate Poison of the Old Man! This raised my Life Points by 1200!"

"But you still pay 500," Jesse observed.

"So my score drops to 1050 and rises to 2250," he snarled. "Then I'll activate this Magic Card from my Graveyard! Burn Equilibrium!"

"That card only inflicts damage when you lose Life Points from a Card Effect!" Jesse said. "Chain Energy is a cost, so it won't work!"

"But it has a different effect," DuMort said. "By excluding it from the Graveyard, my opponent loses Life Points equal to the amount I gained this turn. So you lose 1450 Life Points!"

"Ahh!" Jesse yelled as his Life Points fell to 1750.

"Tut-tut," DuMort said, his tone patronizing. "What are we going to do now? Pretty soon, I'll take you out."

"How?" Jesse challenged.

DuMort pointed to his Balloon Lizard. "When Balloon Lizard is destroyed, you take 400 Points of Damage for each of my turns it's been left on the field!"

Jesse gasped. "That's already been three!" he exclaimed.

DuMort cackled. "Exactyl! No go ahead and make your move! It'll be your last!"

Jesse drew. "Ruby!" he nearly exclaimed. Something buzzed in his jacket, but he ignored it. "You sure we can get through this?"

Ruby purred.

DuMort laughed again. "Talking to your cards? It's a sign that you're losing it!"

"My cards and I have a bond!" Jesse shouted. "Which is something you don't understand!"

"And again," DuMort sneered, "You speak of bonds. Well then Jesse, tell me how your so-called 'bond' will get you out of this little pickle? On my next turn, I'll destroy Balloon Lizard, reducing your Life Points to a mere 150. Due to the effect of Chain Energy, if you play anymore cards, your Life Points will drop to 0! Then I'll just need to draw a Monster Card and finish you off!" He laughed again.

Jesse looked at Ruby's card. "Please, Ruby, give me strength." He looked at DuMort. "I switch Wattgiraffe and Watt King Cobra to Defense Mode and end my turn. Now your Nightmare's Steel Cage wears off!"

"Life there's anything else that you can do!"

More laughter.

* * *

><p>Alexis lowered her Duel Disk. "Another win for us. That makes, what, sixteen points?"<p>

Axel nodded. "We only need eight more to enter the finals."

"I should call the rest of the gang to see how they're doing," she said. "Let me call Jim."

"You're starting to speak like Jaden," Axel observed.

"I know," she said. "I wish he would at least tell us what was going on." She dialed Jim's number on her student PDA.

A few seconds later he picked up. "Alexis?" he asked. "Everything's fine here. We're going to the Kaiba Corp. Tower. Or, at least Chazz thinks he's leading us to the Kaiba Corp. Tower."

"Where's he actually going?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it's off to the left and we're not heading in that direction. Why don't you ask Chazz?"

"I know where I'm going!" he said, taking the first left that came.

Alexis suppressed a laugh. "We'll meet you there!" she replied. 'I'll tell Syrus and Blair too. See you soon!"

Jim winked and clicked off. Alexis began dialing Syrus's number.

The PDA dialed, but Syrus didn't pick up. Alexis frowned.

"Hmm, that's weird. Let me try again."

Again, no answer.

"Let me try Blair's…"

"Hello?" a voice said. Female, but Alexis knew it wasn't Blair's. She nearly dropped her PDA in surprised.

"Show yourself on the screen!" she replied. "I can't see you."

"You're another student at Duel Academy," the voice replied. "How interesting."

"Who are you and where is Blair?" Alexis demanded.

"We have your friends," the voice responded. "As to who I am, that's really none of your concern. However, since you seem to be so eager to recover them, you can meet us at the old metro station." She rattled off an address and clicked off.

"Hey!" Alexis called. "Hey!"

There was no answer.

Axel began speaking, but Alexis cut him off. "Hold on, I have to try to call Jaden."

There was no answer.

Alexis sighed. "Jesse," she said.

Once again, nobody answered.

She sighed again. "I just wish they would at least let us know that they're okay."

"About what's going on," Axel asked, "Do you think this kidnapping is somehow related to Jaden and Jesse?"

The set of Alexis's mouth was grim. "Everything bad has something to do with Jaden and Jesse."

* * *

><p>So, how did you guys like it? I know that the view point changed a lot this chapter...that get's better! This is the curse of having multiple plots to move forward at the same time. Please review!<p>

~ JakillNearBeg


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